Mating Surprises:

Even though Rex had imagined this moment about a hundred thousand times over the last three years, actually having Ahsoka's perfect, pillowy lips on his didn't even come close to preparing him for the reality of how it would change his life forever.

With just the single, whisper soft brush of her mouth against his, Rex knew he was in trouble. Knew he wasn't going to be able to deny her anything she wanted. Knew he would walk through a million blaster bolts without armour just to feel her kiss him again.

She pulled back before he even had a chance to respond, her eyes searching his. "Okay?"

Okay? What kind of stupid question is that? Of COURSE this is okay!

But his thoughts never made it past the thinking stage, because all that came out was a groan as his fingers cupped her cheeks tighter and drew her back to him. Her lips were curved up in a smile when they connected to his with a little more pressure than last time.

He kissed that smile right off her lips, putting every ounce of his vivid imagination into reality.

Holding her still with his gentle grip on her face, Rex feathered kisses along the lush curve of her bottom lip, then sucked lightly on the upper one, before finally connecting fully again and moving his mouth against hers in what he hoped was a pleasurable fashion.

Turns out it must have been, because the next thing he knew, he had a warrior girl straddling his lap and her strong arms were wrapped tightly around his neck as she kissed him back with moaning enthusiasm. He let go of her face and wrapped his arms around her in return, one around her hips, tugging her even closer to his waist, and the other cupping her back lek at the nape.

She seemed to really like that, parting their lips a millimetre to moan out, "Ummmmm, yes!" And then she was plastering their mouths together again and licking at him with the tip of her tongue. He opened for her instantly, and met her curious tongue halfway.

Kriff! Tongue kissing is even better than I'd hoped! he thought about five seconds into the heated duel of exploration. And with that secret desire satisfied, the next one made itself known; to actually feel her skin with his hands, which he had never done.

So, as they kissed like the world was going to end tomorrow, he ripped off his vambraces and then his gloves behind her back almost desperately. And then cursed into her mouth as he finally touched her with his bare hands, cupping her head up near her montrals and then running downwards over her lekku. Never felt anything so soft. Ever. He did it again. And then again, petting her as the blue and white, jagged chevron striped appendages quivered under his touch.

Ahsoka tore her mouth from his, arching her back as she whimpered.

Rex stopped his movements instantly and moved his hands to the safer territory of her shoulders. "Kark. I'm sorry. Is that too much? Did I hurt you?"

She peeled her eyes open and he was startled to see them more black than blue. "Kriff no. Pet me again!"

Ahhh. She LIKED it. Good to know. His mouth quirked up on one side. "Yes, ma'am." He put his hands back up at the top of her montrals and stroked downwards all the way to the tips of her lekku where they curled back up around her breasts with tension. He daringly allowed his fingers to brush over the slate blue armorweave fabric that covered her chest in the process.

His beautiful girl whimpered again, shuddering on his thighs and grabbing the back of his head with strong fingers. She stared at him, looking a little shocked. "Fragging hell, Rex."

"More?"

"Yesssssssss," she hissed before leaning forward again and kissing him like she wanted to devour him from the inside out as she writhed on his lap, her slender thighs grasping his hips tightly just above his blaster holsters.

He was perfectly fine with that.

Even if he was wishing mightily that his plastoid codpiece would miraculously disappear for more than one reason.

So Rex kissed her, and caressed her montrals and lekku, and brushed over her breasts that probably couldn't feel as much as he'd like through the protective, sleeveless tunic - but that didn't stop him from learning the basics of their curves anyway - for who knows how long until she pulled back again, gasping and shuddering.

"Frag!" she said through clenched teeth, eyes squeezed tightly shut, and the ends of her lekku wrapped around his wrists, holding him tighter than he'd thought possible from the usually placid appendages.

"Are... Are you okay?" he asked tentatively when she fell forward again, her forehead coming to rest on his blue pauldron and the grip on his wrists easing. He thought it best to move his hands to the safer territory of her back for the moment, and did so, rubbing them up and down in a comforting motion, almost completely forgetting that he was throbbing and aching something awful under his armour in his concern for her.

"Yeah," she mumbled against his armour after a moment. "I just... didn't really think that was actually possible."

Rex was confused. "That what was possible?"

Ahsoka turned her head and pressed a kiss just below his jaw. He shivered. She smiled against his skin then licked a strip of electricity over to his earlobe. "That the touch of a mate on my lekku can make me come," she whispered, then nipped at his ear.

Rex shuddered from head to toe, nearly coming in his undershorts from her words and actions, the pleasure pain more than he was expecting. "Shab!" he gasped. I can't believe I made her orgasm already! Just from petting her lekku for a few minutes!

That has to be some kind of speed record.

"My thoughts exactly," she purred, now nibbling her way up his jawline, just letting him feel the edge of her sharp canine teeth that had just put tiny dents in his earlobe.

What?! he thought, belatedly.

Rex reluctantly pulled away from her wonderful but distracting ministrations and cupped her face again, searching her eyes. "Ummmm, Soka? Baby?"

"Yes, Rexi?" she asked as she stroked her fingers over the short fuzz on top of his head, petting him back as best as she knew how. (He loved that too.)

She looked so pleased with herself and hopefully the love names he'd given her, he almost felt bad about what he was going to say. "I, uhhhh, didn't say any of that out loud."

She blinked. Blinked again. Her hands stilled on his head and her eyes filled with sorrow. "Oh. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to invade your mind! I know you have issues with that ever since Teth and the Ventress thing."

"No. It's okay," he was quick to reassure, not wanting to see her drown in guilt, thumbs rubbing over her cheekbones soothingly. "I don't mind if it's an accident. And I didn't feel you digging around in my mind or anything. There was no pain."

She smiled a little in relief, but then her expression turned contemplative as she resumed petting his buzz cut and dyed hair. "Hmmmmm. Even with your natural shields down right now like they are, I shouldn't have heard you in my head so clearly." She closed her eyes, body stilling in that way she had when she was sensing things with the Force.

"What?" he asked after a few seconds, too curious to wait.

Ahsoka opened her eyes and bestowed upon him an absolutely beautiful, beaming smile. "We're bonding."

"Well, of course we are," he said. "That's what mates do, is it not?"

She giggled and leaned forward, which had his hands slipping under her heavy lekku, nuzzling her nose against his. "Yes. But no, I mean FORCE bonding."

Now it was his turn to blink slowly. "Oh. I take it that's a good thing?"

She kissed him sweetly before saying, "It's a very good thing. And almost unheard of when one person isn't Force sensitive. It means that even the Force agrees that we're meant to be together."

Can't argue with the Force, can I? he thought with amusement and feeling almost ridiculously pleased at the new development. "That's good then, even if it means you'll hear my thoughts sometimes."

She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. All you have to do if you want to keep something to yourself is imagine yourself behind your super shield again like Anakin taught you after Teth."

"All right. I can do that." Just for the sake of curiosity, he did just that and then thought very clearly, I wish you'd never left me.

Her expression never changed, which meant that she was right about his shields being strong. Thank kriff.

There were some things she just didn't need to hear. Like his grief whenever a brother died. Or how he wanted to shag her senseless at any given moment, but especially when she did something particularly badass that only a Jedi (or Force user) could pull off.

His lapful of deliciously warm female – until she finished growing in her twenties (except for her lekku, which would grow indefinitely), she would be hotter than a Human by about ten degrees and could easily get overheated, which was why her battle outfits were always disturbingly skimpy – had turned her attention back to caressing him all over his head and face and ears, learning him by careful touch.

Rex did the same, but left her lekku alone for now. Instead, he pulled off her headband, curious to see what she looked like without one now that she'd grown some more.

A bit more of her original forehead markings had disappeared under the expanding line of her montral ridge, but most of them were still there, including the diamonds that had been half hidden by the metal headband.

He traced them now, having always been infinitely fascinated by her skin patterns, and followed the zigzag line down to one eyebrow marking, and then over to the other one and back up again to trace along her montral ridge. The hollow bones of her hearing horns were incredible to him in how they looked so pretty but could be so useful too. Human ears were downright ugly in comparison as far as he was concerned.

She giggled. "That tickles."

He moved his fingers back down to her cheeks quickly. "Sorry."

"No. It's okay. Touch what you want. I really don't mind."

With an invitation like that, his playful side came to the fore instantly.

Rex grinned and started tracing the outline of the blue star on top of one of her montrals, and felt very smug when she shivered against him.

But then the little minx turned the tables on him and ran her finger under the collar of his bodysuit as she whispered right in his ear, "I think you're overdressed, Rex'ika, don't you?"

Shab, who taught her the Mando'a way to say sweetheart? He swallowed hard and looked down to meet her dilated eyes. (His own were undoubtedly just as black with desire.) "Possibly?"

"Definitely."

Even though he knew that things between them were progressing at the speed of light and that he'd rather savour this moment as fully as possible, he didn't stop her when her clever hands started pulling pieces of armour off of him.

In fact, he helped.

A/N edit: Someone pointed out already that I have slightly mistranslated Rex'ika according to my own interpretation of Mando'a, which can be found in the first chapter of 'Flame of Hope'. This was done on purpose and will be explained in a later chapter. :D