Cody couldn't keep the wide smile off his face as he watched the 501st and the 212th celebrate their most recent victory. Normally a victory wouldn't warrant a celebration as big as this one nor so soon after a battle.

Usually they would still be cleaning up the battlefield, destroying any remaining droids, gathering what supplies survived, collecting the dead, and treating the injured. By the time they finished, they would drag themselves back to there ships, dirty and exhausted, barely able to walk in a straight line. No one would be in the mood for a party. Sorrow would blanket the ship as they mourned their lost brothers and desperately hoping that the wounded would live. The sorrow would turn crushing as that hope was extinguished bit by bit.

But this battle was different. In this battle something was done that no one had ever managed before, a miracle that no one ever thought possible.

No one died.

Sure no one got out of the battle unscathed but there were no corpses to burn, no names to add to their chants. They all made it back alive.

The awe that had filled Cody when he first saw the report still hadn't faded. The giddy disbelief made him feel lighter than he had since the war started.

So in celebration of this miraculous event, Cody had authorized a party to be thrown for the troops.

"It's still so hard to believe isn't it?" Rex said from beside him.

Cody nodded, turning to face his friend. Rex had a soft smile on his face, one that Cody has never seen before. It somehow made him look both younger and older at the same time.

Suddenly Rex through an arm around his shoulders and started leading Cody to the makeshift dance floor, a carefree grin replacing the soft smile.

"That's enough brooding for today. This is a party, let's go enjoy it."

Two hours later the party started to wind down. The dancing slowed as the troops tired and they started to gather into groups to talk.

Cody had never been one for parties himself. He had hated the loud music and hadn't seen how the high energy was supposed to help people unwind, but now, as he settled down next to Waxer and Boil, he could honestly say that this was the most fun he had in years.

Cody was drawn back out of his thoughts as the 501st broke out in an excited murmur. There eyes tracked one clone in blue as he approached their captain with a large case.

"Any idea what's going on?" Waxer asked.

"No," Cody answered as he saw Rex nod and accept the case.

The soldier gave a wide smile and the boys in blue gathered around their captain. Confused, the 212th did the same.

Rex set the case down on the floor and pulled out... a violin? Where did he get a violin? Why?

Question continued to run through his mind up until Rex brought the instrument up and began to play. There was no hesitation in his movement as a hopeful melody reverberated around the room.

Cody had never had time to listen to music, always rushing to finish something be it paperwork or battle plans. But he could see why people devoted their lives to making music. It was beautiful, and, as he watched Rex play, he could see why people thought clones were beautiful as well.

Cody had no concept of beauty. He had heard people talking about beautiful things. They would call a planet beautiful, a place, an object, a person. Beauty seemed to make something more desirable, something they want to see again, that is why they filled their homes with what they thought of as beautiful.

Cody had never quite understood. Kamino held nothing he wished to see again besides his brothers. Any planet that could have been beautiful was tainted with the blood of his brothers. The only people he wished to see again where his brothers and Jedi. The only object that he desires to keep is his armor.

But as he watched Rex play the heart warming melody he thinks he understood a little. He had never seen Rex so relaxed, so content. His eyes were closed and a faint smile was on his lips, his head tilted just right to highlight his sharp features and the light making his golden hair shine.

Yes, he could see how they were beautiful. Cody wanted to listen to Rex play again and again. He wanted to watch as his little brother forgot the pain of loss and death and fear, if only for a few moments.

Cody didn't realize tears were streaming down his face until much, much later.