(Present time)
Once the time rolled around for Rex to show up, Kai pulled on a nicer top of hers, as well as some better pants and shoes and she sat on her bunk until she heard a knock. She stood with a smile, slipping her comm device into her pocket. She walked to the door and pressed the button as she leaned against the side.
The door hissed open and Rex stared down at her, and she blinked once as she saw him in normal clothes. Not his blacks or his armor, but a light grey shirt and some sturdy pants and boots.
He saw her staring and flushed a little. "Y-yes?" he asked, sounding very unsure and she shook her head and laughed, color touching her own cheeks. She hadn't meant to make him uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, I've just never seen you in civilian clothes before. You look really nice."
He rubbed a hand over his buzzed hair once and gave a small smile. "Thanks. Some of us commanders just had some sitting around, and they were offered to me, so I thought I'd take it. Plus, you and I might blend in better this way. Unfortunately, not everyone is likes us clones." He said, his eyes reflecting some sadness and she stepped through the door, letting it close behind her with a hiss.
In a moment of boldness, she wrapped her arm around his and started to walk, and he seemed to shake off the surprise and escorted her to the hanger bay without moving his arm. "That's okay! I would have been fine with it anyway. I could have convinced anyone to leave us alone." She smiled as she looked up at him, and he smirked a little.
"Anyone, huh?" He teased and when she looked a little offended, it made him chuckle. "Relax. I'm just teasing you. I believe you."
Kai saw a waiting speeder and rolled her eyes when it was Fives in front of it. Still clad in his armor, he gave her a small wink and a grand gesture for his captain and herself. "Your humble ride awaits, sir." He said dramatically and Rex's jaw clenched once as he resisted rolling his eyes. "And how many people did you tell about this?" he asked, and Fives flushed under his captain's intense gaze.
"Just Echo sir. He's the only one that heard, I swear it." Fives told him, his back straight as he looked at the two of them.
Rex gave him a nod and they climbed in the speeder and at Kai's instruction, the driver took off.
"So we're going to agree that most of the 501st knows by now, right?" Kai teased him and he shook his head as he rubbed his face tiredly.
"Oh, with Fives I have no doubt. That soldier doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Just one more thing I have to deal with those boys."
Kai relaxed against his side and looked up at him. "Oh, it's not that big of a deal. We're just two people, enjoying each other's company and getting some drinks. That's all."
He nodded as he looked down at her, and his heart thudded once as she stared up at him with large blue eyes. Were they always that big? And did the cities lights always reflect on them like that? He gave her a small smile in appreciation. "Yeah, that's all. So where are we going? This isn't the way to 79ers."
Kai blushed a little as she looked down at her lap and back up. "Well, I figured after this last mission we… well, you could use some relaxation at somewhere nice, maybe not have to a captain for a while. You could just be…Rex if you wanted."
They approached the restaurant and he climbed out and held out his hand for her. Her leg twinged as she exited, but she could walk easy enough and she grabbed his hand as she stood.
"I'm not sure I know how to be Rex, and not a captain." He admitted and she took a deep breath and looked at him, pausing walking for a moment.
He stopped when she did and looked down at her as she looked out at the city. "I'm not sure how to be Kai and not a bounty hunter either. But I have to try. We are both people, and we deserve to take care of ourselves sometime. I…" She blushed. "I know you're tired. I can see it. We lost…" her chest ached for a moment and she inhaled sharply. "We lost a lot of men this last mission. I don't know, I just felt like it was a good idea to get out of there, completely. No soldiers, no ranks. Just…us. And I didn't think you'd ever been to a place like this." She sighed and looked up at him. "I apologize. I assumed something about you. I shouldn't have."
He stepped forward, his chest warm. He had known her for less than two months and already it seemed like she could read his mind. She was much smarter than she gave herself credit for and he smiled, his eyes crinkling. He touched her shoulder once, and she looked up at him, and he noticed her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink. "Thank you. It was very kind of you, and you didn't assume anything. You're very intuitive, and this is exactly what I needed. And you would be very right. I've never been to a civilian establishment like this." He gestured at the warm light of the surface level establishment and nodded his head. "I'm sure we'll have a wonderful evening. Now shall we?" he asked and she nodded and smiled.
"Yeah I am. Let's go." She seemed to perk up and she grabbed onto his arm again and it made him smile at how touchy she seemed. She also seemed very unsure as if holding onto him would make her feel better and he certainly had no complaints.
They walked in and the man at the front desk nodded at them. "Just the two of you?" he asked, and Kai nodded. "Yes. The reservation should be under Kai, and if we could have a corner booth that would be lovely." She asked, and he nodded, gathering some electronic menus and walked them to their table. "Of course. We have a booth right here. You may also enjoy the sights of Coruscant's skyline as you dine."
It was a small cozy booth, room enough only for one on each side and it tucked them neatly against the corner of the restaurant. Kai could see everyone and it kept them out of the way.
"Perfect." She said quietly and Rex nodded. "Good choice." He agreed and then he looked down at the menu, his brow furrowing a little as he read words he didn't understand. "Ummm…" He cleared his throat in embarrassment. "What do some of these mean?" He asked, and she looked up with those eyes again and they twinkled with amusement.
"Oh, I'll help you with those. Our server is going to come ask what we want to drink. You can have water, or an alcoholic beverage, or a carbonated drink if you'd like?" she offered and he tilted his head in thought.
"I'm extremely dehydrated from the mission. Start with water then maybe move onto the better stuff?" he asked and she nodded, lifting an eyebrow.
"You have a good point. I should too. I can still taste sand." She grimaced and he chuckled and fiddled with one of his utensils. "That's what the extra strong caf is for. It'll wash anything out of your mouth."
She grinned and rolled her eyes and was about throw back a response when the man returned. She ordered their drink options and then she leaned forward and her hair fell down near her face as she pointed at the menu.
Rex tore his gaze away from her and looked down at the menu where her fingers were.
She took her time explaining the menu to him and how different words meant different types of meat. There was the heartier type of meat, a thicker portion of it, and there was also a lighter meat as well if you weren't feeling the heavier meal.
"This is noodles in a mix of a red and white sauce. That one's really good, and that's probably what I'll get." I wrinkle my nose and grin at him. *this next option is just a sort of snail. Not my thing, and I wouldn't suggest it for a first meal out like this.."
Rex laughed at her face. "Well, I guess lucky for both of us. I wasn't going to order that one." He pointed to the last one. "What's this one?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Ah, that ones just going to be a fish. It seems fairly flaky and mild, with a nice glaze on it. Oh, that does sound really good!" She said with gusto, but then she bit her lip as she stared at her own menu. "Oh, what in galaxy's name do I want?" She worried her lip for a moment as she thought and missed at Rex as he stared across from her. He already knew what he wanted anyway. Some of her hair feel across close to her face, the strands seeming to glow in the low light. His gaze fell down to the bridge of her nose, and the subtle cheekbones that made up her face. Her lips were pressed together in thought and he tore his gaze away from them, just in time, when she lifted her head.
"I have to get the noodles. It's so good. You have to have a bite of it!" She exclaimed quietly and Rex gave her a small smile and a nod.
"If you think I should." He agreed and then he pointed to one of the beverages on the menu. "Wait, what's this?"
She raised her brow. "Oh that's a carbonated soda. It's got carbonation in it, so it's very bubbly and it's sweet. It's really good. Why, have you never heard of that before? Have you never had tht before?" She asked, and he blushed a little as he looked away.
"I mean, I've had caf and I've had about every drink there is at 79ers, except the ones that are basically engine cleaner. But no, I haven't had soda. I go to the bar to drink, so I haven't really had anything like that?"
Kai gasped and subtly gestured for the waiter, who approached with a smile. "I'll order my favorite two, how's that?" She explained and when the waiter got there, she ordered her food and drinks and when the waiter turned to Rex he cleared his throat, and unsure of the pronunciation, he pointed to the menu option he wanted.
"I would like that, please.." The waiter nodded with a polite smile.
"Of course. I'll get your dinners out to you as soon as possible." With that he walked away and Rex was met with Kai's upraised hand near him her palm facing him.
"Good job for ordering your first civilian meal!" She congratulated him, and he shook his head as he high fived her.
"It wasn't exactly that hard." He shot back and she snorted and shook her head as she looked over at him.
"So, Rex tell me something about yourself." She leaned her head on her hand as she smiled at him.
The tip of his ears turned red as she looked at him like that but he answered. "What exactly do you want to know?"
She hummed as she thought. "Well, I want to get to know you as Rex the person, so let's start with your favorite color."
He snorted. "Is the armor color not answer enough for you?" At that she raised her head and gently kicked at his foot.
"Seriously? I thought that was just a company thing. So that's really your favorite color?" he nodded and she let out a surprised hum. "Alright. Cool enough. Sunrises or sunsets."
"Sunrises." He replied and she laughed a little as she countered him. "Sunsets. Sunrises are too early."
He shook his head and when his new beverage was placed in front of him, he eyed the rising bubbles. "I don't know. A sunrise always seems calm and quiet. I like that."
She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I can get that. I just hate waking up that early. These early morning training sessions will end me."
Rex braved his own question. "What's yours?" She raised her eyes.
"Color?"
He nodded, and she smiled. "Oh, well that one's easy. It's green." He was surprised to see a flicker of pain shoot through her eyes as she covered it up with a smile, and it disappeared as quickly as it came.
He didn't ask though, because that seemed to be a private pain, something he knew all too well about. He leaned forward and took a sip of his own soda, and immediately his tongue burned with the bubbles, and he swallowed and coughed a little and she grabbed his hand.
"Are you okay?" She asked, not hiding the laughter in her voice and a small laugh ended up slipping out.
He coughed a few more times before settling back and taking another sip, more prepared this time. "I hope you mean that, and you weren't just laughing at me."
She laughed out loud when he said that and she shook her head. "Can it be a little of both? It was kind of funny." She teased him and took a big sip of her own drink.
He rolled his eyes. "This is…good. Thank you for recommending this." He said, and the thanks was enough to bring another smile to her face. It was then that their meals came and were placed in front of them.
Rex stared down at the delicious looing dinner with wide eyes. This was very different than his rations that he was used to eating, even different from the cafeteria food. It was so flavorful, he could smell it. When he looked up, Kai was looking at him with a soft look in her eyes, and it made him flush.
"I'm sorry, I just have never seen food look so good before." He explained and was surprised when the sad look intensified for a moment before she shook her head. She nodded to him and picked up her own fork and speared some noodles.
"If I could change that for you and every other soldier in that army I would. I am sorry you haven't been able to experience all the wonderful things that life can offer. It's not really fair." She frowned and took a bite of her noodles.
He shook his head and cut a section of fish and placed it in his mouth. He closed his eyes as he tasted the rich flavors all melding with each other. He opened his eyes again. "It's alright. We are happy, and we do the best we can with the life we have."
Kai shrugged and took a drink and continued eating. "I know you do, but it doesn't make it any less true. You are people and you deserve the same rights as everyone else." She sighed and then perked up. "But you can try this, if you want. It's really good!" She gestured to her pasta with her fork.
Rex hesitated for a moment, unsure if he was supposed to use his own fork or if she was going to use her own, but the question answered for him, when her fork lifted with some noodles on it, and she extended it with a small smile.
He kept his gaze on hers, even when his cheeks flushed and he gently took the noodles off the fork and chewed thoughtfully.
Kai watched his face go through a few emotions like thought, followed by surprise and then happiness, his eyes crinkling.
"You're right. That's very good. Would you like a bite of mine?" He asked and she nodded happily and so he tried to do the best he could to give her a good bite. If someone had told him when he became a captain that he would be sitting her with a woman like Kai, offering her food off of his plate, he would have called them insane.
But that was exactly what was happening, and he couldn't find it in him to wish it away. He couldn't.
She chewed and her own eyes widened. "Oh you're right. That one is really, really good!" She swallowed. "I'm going to have to get that next time I come."
She worked on her own dinner and soon enough they were finish and they found themselves walking around Coruscant's walkways, onto the surface level, surrounded with the night activity.
Kai's leg started to twinge half way through, but she managed to ignore it for most of the time. During that time Rex learned some things about her, some of which she hadn't planned on telling him, but it just felt so natural. He learned that her parents died when she was young, but that she had been raised by her adopted father the rest of her life, and though she didn't talk about him much, he could see in her eyes how much that man meant to her.
She learned more about the clones and their training process and event though he didn't know her well, he knew her well enough to spot the irritation in her eyes as he spoke of different things, things he felt were normal.
The evening passed so pleasantly, but he began to notice her limp and he looked down. "Are you alright?" He asked and she huffed a little but shrugged with a small smile.
"When we were waiting for the second gunship, we got ambushed by a squad of bugs. Took a shot to the leg, and the bacta I put on it before tonight is just taking a while to work. I'm alright." As she said that he saw her leg tremble and he immediately grabbed around her waist, supporting her.
She gasped a little as she was pressed against a warm and broad torso and she looked up at him, and saw the concern flickering in his eyes. "We need to take you by the medbay. Why don't we head back?"
She shook her head. "I don't need the medbay. I know you boys need the supplies more than I do. I'm okay." But she didn't stop him from leading her to a waiting speeder cab.
Unfortunately her bravado was only that, and it only lasted a few more steps before she grunted in pain. Her leg buckled and he immediately scooped her up before she hit the ground.
Now she really was being held against a chest and she looked up. He seemed to be holding her with ease and he raised a brow. "You would have fallen. You're going to the medbay." He commanded, no argument in his voice.
She sighed and looked up at the sky, ignoring the looks of some of the passerby "Fine. I can't convince you otherwise, so we might as well get this over." She turned her face so she could see him and she smirked. "Though I have to say, I don't mind this situation in the slightest."
He blushed as she said that, this time a real and full blush and he looked away as walked to a speeder. She couldn't hold back a small laugh when he didn't reply. "What? Is my captain at a loss for words?" She teased and he nearly stumbled but managed to find the cab. He leaned down to place her in, and when she slid over he climbed in after her, telling the driver to head to the base.
Her captain. Why did she use those words? He thought that his heart would beat out of his chest. "I'm not…your captain." He corrected with a raised brow and she leaned closer.
"But aren't you? Don't I fight mainly with the 501st? I may not be under your military jurisdiction but…" She looked over his face, the smile not leaving.
He stared at her for a long moment, the light of the city reflecting on her eyes and from this distance he could see her freckles, dotted across her nose. His gaze moved down to her lips, and his breath caught. They looked impossibly soft and he couldn't help but lean just a little closer.
Kai looked at him as well, taking in the hard edges of his face, but the kind warmth light in his eyes and she only hesitated for a moment before closing the distance between the two of them, her lips meeting his. It was soft enough to give him the option to pull away if he wanted.
He let out a small noise of surprise, but then immediately relaxed. She was kissing him. She was kissing him. His mind spun with this new experience but he couldn't help but lean into her touch, his mind seeking it out.
Kai closed her eyes as she gently held the side of his face, when he didn't move.
Too soon, the kiss ended and she leaned back, her cheeks dusted pink.
"Should I not call you that then?" She asked, her voice low but her eyes shined with unspoken laughter.
He blushed and shook his head and leaned back in for another kiss. He wanted to feel that warmth and that softness again. It was completely foreign to him, and he wasn't ready for it to be gone. "I don't mind." He said quietly and sighed into the kiss when their lips touched again.
His hand lifted to the back of her neck and he held her gently as he could. The sounds of the outside world seemed to fade into a muffled bubble around them and her hair dusted his hands as she tilted her own head.
"If you two are done, we're at your stop." The cab driver called back and Rex jerked his head back in embarrassment. The commend just made Kai laugh as she climbed out. She threw in a couple more credits and smiled at the cab driver. "For the delay. Thank you."
He simple scoffed with a smile and shook his head as he accepted the credits, and he took off, leaving them on the platform.
He looked over at her as she looked at the base, the lights shining down on her and he clenched his jaw and looked away. Now that he knew what kissing her was like, he didn't want to stop. She was a women of duality, capable of fierce fighting, but also a surprising amount of tenderness and care and he wanted to spend more time with her.
He couldn't think about that however. They were on the base again, and he had to be Captain Rex again. He had a job to do, a roll to fulfill.
But with her, he could just be Rex and he hadn't realized how much he needed that until today.
Until he met her.
(A/N: I know it ended cheesy but it's finals week and I really needed it! :P I hope y'all enjoyed the requested date happenings! Thanks for all your support, loves!)
