Who's the Alpha?:

As much as Rex loved Anakin like one of his own brothers, he wasn't sure having his General's voice in his head was a desirable thing. Ahsoka's now… that was entirely different. Her mental voice was just as soothing, if not more so, than her real one. Anakin's mental voice was… pretty strong and in-your-face, almost worthy of a flinch at the undiluted volume of it.

Rex knew Anakin was the strongest Jedi in the Order in regards to sheer amount of Force power, which meant that it had always been something of a surprise and a relief that their enthusiastic General didn't force his thoughts into their heads hither and yon when the fighting got intense. So, when he did hear Anakin in his head for the first time after knowing him for years, it was something of a shock.

And he wasn't even the person the words were meant for. Rex most definitely wasn't 'Snips'.

Ahsoka looked momentarily shocked as well that Rex had heard Anakin too, but then she adopted her thinking face as she hooked her arm through his and started basically dragging him at double time towards the hotel conference room they'd taken over as Head Quarters for their siege of the Mandalorian planet.

He had to bite back the surge of jealousy that emerged at how eager she was to see her other mate. Rex wasn't going to ruin this for her, even if he had to have his brothers knock him out so that he didn't interfere.

He was marginally confident he could control his emotions better than that, though.

After half a block of quick-marching, Ahsoka finally spoke. "I think… the reason you're hearing Anakin too is because your bond with me is bleeding over into my bond with him, turning us into a triumvirate instead of two separate pairs."

Rex grimaced. "I don't know if I want to get romantically involved with my General." He knew in some way that Anakin was a handsome and desirable man, but his looks and personality had never inspired lust in Rex. In more than few of his brothers, on the other hand...

Ahsoka giggled. "I don't think you have to, specifically, to make the triumvirate still work. In regards to our mating bonds, though, it would make things easier, putting you and Anakin on an equal level."

Rex still had his doubts. Many of them. But all he said was, "If you say so. You're the expert."

She snorted, pulling him through the hotel doors as they slid open at their approach. "I'm playing this by the seat of my shebs every bit as much as you are, Rexi. Just… Try and keep your head and let's see how things play out, okay?"

"All right." The admission wasn't exactly torn out of him, but it certainly didn't come easy. Every molecule of Rex's body was protesting the idea of sharing Ahsoka – it didn't matter if the other person was someone who already owned part of her heart or not. And Anakin Skywalker had always done that, as her Master, as her mentor, as her older sibling, as a very good friend. Now their relationship was changing, and Rex was resigned to the fact that he was just going to have to go with it if he wanted to keep the piece of Ahsoka he'd already won.

He couldn't bear to lose her. Not now that he'd finally gotten her as his own after all those agonizing years working together and not being able to claim her the way he wanted to.

Ahsoka directed him into the conference room, and then more or less abandoned him as she circled the holoprojector like a beast in a cage. Sighing, Rex leaned back against the wall and kept his worshipful but worried gaze on her as she all but vibrated out of her own skin while they waited for Anakin and Jesse to arrive from the docks. His hand absently brushed over his helmet, still hanging from his belt, and he thought about putting it on just to hide his expression (and maybe the tears that would likely emerge when he saw her fling herself into another man's arms), but Rex refused to give in to such a weakness. He was going to take this like a man, no matter how much it hurt.

And oh, did it ever, especially since he could hear Ahsoka thinking over and over, "Anakin's coming. Anakin's coming!" like it was the best thing to ever happen to her.

But… then she rounded the holotable after the third trip around it and her eyes landed on him. She froze for half a second before walking over to him with quick steps, her beautiful big blue eyes filling with remorse. She touched his face with gentle fingers, cupping his cheeks. "Oh, my brave, stoic Captain, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to forget you. I promise, you'll always be first in my heart."

And then she rose on her toes and kissed him so sweetly that all the tension melted from his body because he believed her. Rex would always believe her, because she had never lied to him, and he knew she never would. (Leave out vital pieces of information if she thought she was protecting him, yes, but not outright lie.)

Rex wrapped his arms around her in return and lifted her more to his height so she didn't have to strain and he kissed her back, licking at the seam of her lips so that she'd let him in. Which she did eagerly.

He was still exploring the sweet recesses of her mouth and playing tag with her clever tongue when a throat was loudly cleared from near the door.

Knowing it was Anakin, and feeling that Ahsoka wasn't protesting, Rex drew out their kiss for an extra half minute, afraid that he wouldn't get the chance to kiss her again for a while after this.

"You're probably right," Ahsoka said in his mind as she gave his bottom lip a playful lick before parting from him. "But we'll see how this goes. Maybe you two will figure out how to share right off the bat."

Rex gave his precious, beloved, sheltered Jedi girl a raised eyebrow look of skeptical disbelief as he gently lowered her to the floor, which she only quirked a shoulder at, and then they both turned and looked at the young man who was staring at them with both eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline and his arms crossed over his chest. Fortunately, Anakin didn't look mad, even with Jesse loudly sniggering in the doorway behind him. Rex shot his younger brother a scathing look and the bastard gave him a cheeky salute before sauntering away and letting the door close, undoubtedly to spread even more juicy gossip about them.

"I take it you two are done eating each other's faces now?" the Jedi General said dryly.

Ahsoka shrugged, smiling every bit as cheekily as Jesse just had. "I don't know, we could start again if that's something you enjoy watching."

Anakin rolled his eyes, hard, before meeting Rex's in a familiar and fleeting look of 'how the kark did I get stuck with such a snippy Padawan?' making the clone chuckle under his breath.

Anakin sucked in a deep breath for patience and then said to the girl who still had herself pressed to Rex with her arm wrapped around his waist, "Okay, let's try this again. I came here expecting you to jump on me, but if I was wrong, I can go back to Padmè and ignore all these crazy urges I have that say I should just grab you, find a flat surface, and claim you for myself."

Ahsoka sucked in a breath for entirely different reasons than Rex did. If Rex had hackles, they would definitely be up at the blatant challenge for his mate. Ahsoka, though, was vibrating once again, and Rex just knew that she was clinging to him to stop herself from straight-up jumping on Anakin as he'd expected her to.

As much as it hurt, he knew she wasn't going to do that until he gave her the okay to do so. And he knew she was hurting herself by restraining her mating urges. Rex would always do what was best for his Ahso'ika. Always.

Anakin watched them with a sharp gaze, waiting for a response, as Rex gently cupped Ahsoka's shoulders and kissed her on top of her head between her montrals, his eyes meeting Anakin's equally grim ones as he said softly, "Go to him, baby. I know you need to. I'll be right here when you're done."

"Good. Stay please," she whispered.

"Okay." He'd watch the whole thing if that's what she needed to help her feel like he wasn't being excluded.

Ahsoka looked over her shoulder at him with huge eyes filled with gratitude. Then she kissed his hand on her shoulder before walking away from Rex with deliberate steps towards Anakin.

Rex crossed his arms over his chest and clenched his hands so hard they hurt as he swallowed back the snarl of ownership trying to build up in his throat.

He was a civilized, highly trained, self controlled being. There was no need for him to turn into a savage.

He hoped.

Ahsoka could feel the conflict and resignation in her mate behind her, which made her heart hurt, and the equal maelstrom of lust and conflict in her second mate in front of her. Honestly, if her mating instincts weren't going completely nuts right now, she'd probably just walk right out of the conference room and go find someone (probably Jesse because he deserved it) to spar with to let off some steam.

But she couldn't do that. Not until all of this was resolved and her mates had settled into their new roles comfortably.

Then she could beat up her sniggering brother a bit.

For now, her first step was to establish her new relationship with Anakin. With Rex watching. Because she thought it was important that he knew exactly what was happening instead of leaving him to imagine and stew in angst and jealousy from afar. That would only make things worse, she was sure.

Despite his bold words, Anakin was feeling very closed off as she approached. She could feel his emotions, but his body language was tight and his eyes were guarded. This wasn't going to be an easy transition on any of them, but especially for her Master who'd never even thought of her sexually as far as she knew for the entirety of the first three years that they'd known each other. There hadn't even been a flicker of appreciation in his gaze when she'd put on that sexy slave outfit last year to help rescue her people from the Zygerrians, only a grimace of horror at what she was doing in the name of the greater good. (Rex, on the other hand… She'd definitely felt his gaze on her in shocked awe. It had been very flattering to her sometimes flailing ego, but hadn't registered at the time as something she should even contemplate acting on. How she regretted the lost time now.)

Ahsoka stopped in front of Anakin and looked up at him. His thunderstorm-blue eyes met hers for a long moment, neither of them saying a word as they felt each other out through their Force bond. At war with themselves was definitely the best description she could come up with. Ahsoka sighed and spoke first. "Tell me truthfully. Did you enjoy the shared dream we had?"

Anakin blinked once, clearly not expecting her to start with that. Then his mouth crooked up at the corner in a reluctant smile. "Yeah. I did."

Behind her, Rex audibly shifted his weight, but he was keeping his thoughts very much to himself, so she left him his privacy.

Ahsoka smiled crookedly back at Anakin. "So did I. I wouldn't mind trying some of that in real life, if you're willing."

Anakin huffed, amusement brightening the blue of his eyes. "My body certainly is. My head and heart are not so certain this is the right thing to do. I love Padmè and I've always been faithful to her, and I know you know that. I can also sense that you and Rex have a deep love between you. I don't want to mess with either of those things."

He really was a very caring man. It made her love him all the more. "Does Padmè know you're here?"

Anakin nodded once, more a blink of the eyes than anything. "Yeah… Gave her blessing and everything. Apparently she knew my feelings for you way before I did."

Ahsoka couldn't help but laugh a little even as Rex made a soft snorting sound behind her. "She always was a very perceptive person for someone without the Force."

"Yeah. One of the things I love about her," Anakin said with a dopey little smile and faraway look.

Ahsoka reached up with her right hand and touched him on the cheek, bringing his focus arrowing back to her. "And do you love me as well?"

Anakin reached up and grasped her hand gently in his left, pressing a kiss to the top of her fingers. It made her heart skip a beat, just as much as if Rex had done the same. "I know that I've always loved you, Snips, but I thought it was more like as your older sibling. This is new for me, seeing you as woman instead of a kid. It's difficult to adjust to."

Ahsoka rubbed her knuckle across his lower lip, watching his eyes dilate at the sensation. "Hmmmm. Not too difficult, I see," she teased huskily.

Anakin's eyes widened momentarily at her tone and then he was nibbling on her knuckle with teasing lips and blunt teeth. "No. I guess not. Force. I didn't know you could talk like that."

"It's kriffing hot, isn't it?" Rex piped in from where he was holding up the wall a couple metres over.

Ahsoka and Anakin looked over at him, both having temporarily forgotten their witness. Anakin gave his friend that crooked-but-very-real smile that made Ahsoka's breath catch and always had. "Yeah. It is."

Rex smiled a little sadly back. "Just wait till you taste her. She's like a whole box of sweets wrapped up in one flexible little package."

Anakin's scarred eyebrow rose as Ahsoka felt the blood rush to her face in what had to be a visible blush. He looked down at Ahsoka with heat starting to blaze in his eyes. "Is that so?"

"I wouldn't know," she whispered, suddenly feeling like an apex predator had sighted her as his next meal. It sent a thrill straight down her spine and into her core. Rex was definitely an Alpha, but he didn't have a fraction of the Force power that Anakin did, and she could feel it coiling around them as her second Alpha male prepared to pounce.

Anakin nipped her knuckle again, with more teeth this time, and then he drew her hand up and behind his neck before letting go and cupping her face to hold her exactly as he wanted. Her other automatically followed so that she was clinging to his tall form, having to reach even higher than she did with Rex. Then he dipped his head and touched his mouth to hers, making her gasp into the gentle kiss. By the heat in his aura, she'd expected to be attacked right away, but Anakin started slow, learning the texture and shape of her plump lips with his own in a very extended and thorough manner before he asked for entrance with the tip of his tongue.

Ahsoka's heart was pounding in her chest and throbbing an echo to his own in her montrals as she opened her mouth and accepted his inquisitive explorations. He kissed differently from Rex, a little more demanding, a lot more knowledgeable and confident about what he wanted, but it was still just as good. She was moaning in her throat and pressing her body against his within moments, wanting, needing, more contact.

Anakin leaned back into her, a hard bulge that wasn't the hilt of his lightsabre pressing into her abdomen and making her head spin with possibilities.

"Kark."

Rex's pained expletive drew Ahsoka back to herself. Anakin as well, since they pulled away from each other at the same time. They stared at each other, both panting, both secure in the knowledge that the chemistry between them was hot enough to set fire to the building. "This is definitely going to be worth it," she gasped out softly.

Anakin nodded once, thumbs caressing the markings on her cheeks as she registered how she was gripping the soft, dark gold curls on the back of his head with tight fingers. "Yes, it is." He glanced over at Rex. "But I think, as much as you seem to think that this is supposed to be a separate thing, we need to bring him into this too."

Ahsoka had actually been secretly hoping for that, but she hadn't wanted to scare either of her mates with the possibility. And she'd been so sure that Anakin wouldn't be very reasonable about this, at least for the first month or so. "You have no problem with sharing me?" she asked just to make sure.

Anakin glanced at Rex and then back down at her. "With him? No. Maybe if it was someone else, like Bonteri or even a different clone, my possessive side would have fits. But I've always shared you with Rex in one way or another. This is just an extension of that."

"Oh," Ahsoka breathed, so relieved, she didn't even have words.

Anakin flashed her a grin and then he glanced to the side. "Rex, come here."

Ahsoka startled in surprise, her hands sliding down from Anakin's neck to his chest as she looked over to see Rex's reaction to the very clear command.

Normally, as a good soldier, Rex would have all but jumped to follow Anakin's orders, but today, she knew he was fighting with his Alpha male instincts, and he was stubbornly staying put despite how much she knew he desperately wanted to touch her too.

Anakin glowered at Rex a little, his hands dropping so that one went around her waist and the other was held out to his second-in-command. "Rex. Don't do this. Just come here."

Ahsoka didn't want to see them fight. And she was afraid it would come to that if Rex didn't sway from his stubborn stance. "Please, Rex'ika," she pleaded. "I need you too."

Rex's eyes left Anakin's and scanned her face. It only took a second for him to exhale and drop his arms from their crossed position. "Okay, Ahso'ika. I'm sorry." He was already walking towards them as he apologized. But when he was within a step of their embracing bodies, Rex stopped again and glared at Anakin's still held out hand. "I am NOT taking that."

Anakin laughed and wrapped it around Rex's shoulders instead, pulling him into a huddle with them. Rex exhaled in a huff, but then relaxed, one of his arms wrapping around Ahsoka too and the other insinuating itself between her and Anakin and holding her far hip possessively. He tried to shrug off Anakin's arm, but her second mate was more stubborn than that. Anakin grinned down at Rex. "Relax, buddy. I've hugged you before."

"But not like this," Rex grumbled, just because, she was sure.

The two Force users both rolled their eyes at the clone. Which he ignored from long practice.

Anakin took charge again. "Now, kiss her, Rex."

Rex shot a disgruntled look at Anakin for the command, but it was only fleeting before he mumbled, "Gladly."

And then her first mate's mouth was on hers with hardly a breath of delay in the most possessive, hard kiss Rex had ever given her. She was tugged close into his side, head tilted back almost painfully to accommodate the height difference, and she could feel his teeth very clearly as he nipped at her bottom lip and then demanded entrance into her mouth to duel aggressively with her tongue.

Ahsoka gasped and then sunk into the kiss with everything she had, her hormones singing at the contact and sending her core into spasms of need.

The whole time, she could feel Anakin watching them avidly, his own arousal rising through their bond. "Force, you're both so hot," he thought clearly into her mind.

And apparently also into Rex's, because Rex pulled back with a gasp and shot a startled gaze at Anakin. "Wait. Both?"

Anakin looked just as startled. "Wait. You can hear me too?"

"Yes," Rex admitted, somewhat reluctantly.

Anakin looked very contemplative for a long moment, his eyes flicking to Ahsoka's for a second. She could see something scheming in that crazy brain of his that usually meant they were about to do something incredibly stupid but would win the battle.

She was right. More or less.

Anakin caught Rex's gaze and held it. Then he said three words that she never in a million years thought she'd hear him say to another male. "Now kiss me."

Rex's jaw dropped and it took him a moment to sputter out, "Wha… What?"

"Kiss me," Anakin repeated.

"Are you crazy?"

Anakin shook his head, a little smirk quirking his mouth up again. "No, just want to try something."

Rex set his jaw. "Sorry, Sir, but I don't swing that way."

Anakin shrugged. "Neither do I, but I have a feeling."

"Shab." Rex knew that Anakin's feelings were incredibly accurate, and he was well trained to go against all instincts to the contrary if Anakin said those words.

So, with a wince and another muttered, "Shab, I can't believe I'm doing this," Rex let go of her hip, grabbed the back of Anakin's head, and drew her Master into a fierce kiss that looked like it actually hurt.

Ahsoka could only watch with jaw hanging, one hand on Rex's chest and the other on Anakin's, feeling them both hold their breath through what had to be an uncomfortable experience.

Rex pulled back after ten seconds or so, a glare in his eyes. "Happy now?"

Anakin laughed, wiping his mouth of the droplet of blood from where Rex had actually nicked his lip on one of their teeth. "Not even close. Try that again and try not to maul me at the same time. I know you can do better than that."

Rex growled. "Why?"

"Just trust me," Anakin said with a glance at Ahsoka that included a quick wink.

She still had no idea where Anakin was going with this, but it was certainly entertaining.

Rex growled again, his chestplate heaving under her hand, but he reached up for Anakin's head again. But this time he cupped his cheek as if he were holding Ahsoka and gently brushed their lips together in a touch so light, it barely counted. Anakin smiled against Rex's mouth and then deepened the kiss himself, moving their lips together without going any further in a chaste but sweet kiss that any fangirl would swoon to get from the Jedi Knight.

Ahsoka felt the heat build between the three of them as Rex actually moaned a little, and then drew back in a snap, looking very startled. "Kriff, Anakin," he breathed, eyes wide and nearly black with desire.

But it wasn't desire for Anakin, it was for her, Ahsoka found out as Rex turned his gaze back to her and he was suddenly kissing her again with a more knowledgeable and sure touch than he'd had before. He was kissing a little more like Anakin, in fact, who'd had at least a couple more years of practice with the art of lovemaking than Rex had.

After having the breath thoroughly stolen from her, Ahsoka pulled back and looked at the smirking faces of both her mates before settling on Anakin's. "Okay. Explain. Why did you make Rex kiss you?"

"Aside from hoping to make him more comfortable with me in close proximity... to test a theory," Anakin said smugly, leaning down and nibbling on her montral and lek as he talked. Which made Ahsoka shudder with desire from head to toe, if she were being honest. "When I found out that our bond had reshaped itself to include Rex, I wanted to know if I could communicate with just him in a sexual situation that also involved you. He needed to be distracted to make sure it would work all the time, and to be honest, I was kind of curious to know what you felt when he kissed you. So, yeah…"

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow marking and snorted. "Right." She pinned Rex (who was nibbling on the other side of her sensitive lekku now) in her demanding gaze next. "And what did he tell you while he was kissing you?"

Rex grinned wickedly against one of her blue chevrons before licking it. "After insisting that I 'stop calling him Sir for kark's sake', Anakin gave me an instant blast of every single thing he knows about sex. My education was sorely lacking in comparison. He also showed me at least half a dozen ways we can share you at the same time. You're going to love this, I'm pretty sure."

Ahsoka blinked at her two men, both grinning at her between kisses to her lekku, and felt her core literally melt with anticipation. "Oh my. I think…" she had to pause as Anakin's caressing hand on her back lek made her moan. "I think it's time to take this somewhere else way more comfortable."

Her mates looked at each other for half a second, blazing blue eyes meeting molten amber, and then they smirked identically before both saying, "Agreed."