Rex was up half the night, tossing and turning. He couldn't stop thinking about Akira… his broken smile, his missing tooth. The way the wind blew his hair from his face, the smell of his cologne.

He sat up, eyes wide. What the hell was he doing? He rubbed his hands over his face. He was over tired. He'd been rescued by the general, he admired him. Wasn't that what generals were for? Inspiring and leading? There wasn't anything else it could possibly be…

He rose, walking over to his water basin, and flicked on the light on his blaster. He splashed cold water on his face, sighing.

"You ok?"

Rex flinched, and Cody was looking over at him, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah I'm just… not tired."

Cody hopped down, pointing his blaster light at Rex, making him squint.

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing!" Rex protested, a little too harshly.

Cody tilted his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Really. I'm just a little shaken from today, that's all."

Cody squinted his eyes, but lie back down.

The following morning they were leaving. The peace negotiations were successful, so their mission was done. It was an unusually boring mission, but Rex couldn't complain. With Anakin as his commanding officer, few things went so smoothly. Rex and Cody helped the other men get the supplies onto the ships before getting on themselves. Anakin, Akira, Rex, Cody, Ahsoka, and Fives rode in the ship back to Coruscant together. They were on leave for a few days, and Rex was relieved. Since he didn't sleep, he needed to get some rest and clear his head. He needed some time alone… although that was a joke. He wasn't sure he'd ever done anything in his life alone. Fives was chattering away excitedly about his plans for their leave, and he heard Echo's name tossed in every once in a while. Rex took the moment. Fives had everyone distracted... Rex could pretend he was alone, for just a moment.

He watched the clouds outside the window blow past, the blue of Coruscant's sky edging its way into the window's view. He was back to the barracks, and he had a few days to recoup whatever head injury this mission seemed to give him. He would read, go for quiet walks, maybe even go swimming again like he enjoyed while training on Kamino. Whatever he did, he had to have his head clear by the time they were back on duty. Rex wasn't one who fared well without sleep, and if he wasn't at his best, he could endanger the men.

Before he knew it, the transport was touching down, and Fives slapped his back.

"Wanna get a drink, boss?"

He asked every time they were going on leave, without fail. Rex never said yes, always preferring to return the peace and quiet of his room. It was shared with Cody, but he too preferred quiet, the two often sitting in a comfortable silence. But despite himself, Rex nodded. "love to."

Rex wasn't much of a social butterfly, and sat by the wall with Kix, Jesse, and Fives at a table. There were women crawling all over the more eager, flashy clones. A newer clone had a twi'lek on each leg, laughing and cheering to another clone trying to dance with a drunken woman.

Rex looked down at his whiskey, sloshing it miserably around his glass.

Jesse and Kix were chattering away as they always did. Fives looked over at Rex, his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Rex nodded, "I'm just tired."

Fives frowned. "Well, have some fun while you're here. Even if it just seeing the men happy for once."

Rex knew Fives was right, and watched the others laugh and dance. It was nice to see his brothers enjoying their lives instead of sacrificing them for once.

"Yeah, Rex, loosen up, we don't get leave as often as we used to." Jesse chimed in, calling the waitress for another round of drinks. Despite his attempts, seeing the other clones having such fun was seeming to drag him down. They were so new... so shiny. They didn't have the baggage he did, hadn't seen the horrors Rex had. They didn't know any better, and that was why they were having fun. They were ignorant to what their futures held. He'd seen Shinies party before, tried to be happy for them, until he spent time the following week scraping their brain matter off of his armor.

After a few more Rex decided he'd had enough. He'd drank too fast and made himself nauseous, the added dizziness was only making it worse, and just wanted to go to bed. Fives agreed to go back with him, being buzzed himself, and held Rex's elbow. Back at the barracks, they walked down the alley between the temple and the capital building, the barracks just a touch further. They heard hushed voices, and a dark figure was leaned against the wall, robes billowing in the wind that was siphoned between the two structures. There was only one light, and it was cast on the ground between the two buildings. It was enough light for them to make out the reddened cheeks of General Kutae. Akira was leaned against a wall, talking. The other voice was one of a woman, her face nearly touching his. She giggled, and her hands wandered up the front of his shirt. They turned down the side alley, the front door of their barrack just before them.

"Looks like the general isn't wasting any time, huh?" Fives laughed, and Rex bobbed his head.

"They can't do that though, can they?" Rex asked, knowing the answer already.

"They can do whatever they want as long as it don't interfere."

Rex wandered into his room, and Cody looked over. He was in his sleep pants, a physical book on the bed before him. He had a glass of rum before him, and tilted his head.

"Rex? Are you drunk?"

Rex sat on his bed, head in his hands. "Yes."

Cody sighed. "Rex. I'm not going to ask you what's wrong, because you won't tell me, but please… keep it together."

"Rex!"

Rex moaned, rolling over and feeling for his communicator on the side table.

"Yes, Sir," he murmured, sitting up. He rubbed his head, the pressure behind his eyes nearly unbearable.

"Can you come to the temple training room please?" Anakin asked.

"Yes, of course, sir."

Rex pulled on a clean set of blacks and his armor, tossing three pain killers in his mouth before heading out for the temple.

He nodded his head to those he passed in the temple, and made his way to the training room. Through the glass, he could hear the hum of Anakin's lightsaber, along with the hum of another. The blue saber met Anakin's green, Akira flipping back and up onto a raised platform. Anakin swung his saber in a few trial arcs, sweat dripping down his bare back.

"Get down here and fight me."

Akira laughed, jumping off the platform at Anakin, their sabers meeting above his head.

Anakin seemed to sense him, because he looked over at the viewing window. Knowing the peace of the moment was over, Rex sighed and walked through the doorway.

Akira was training with duel sabers, his thin shirt soaked through with sweat. He smiled and put away his sabers.

"You called me, sir." Rex said, standing at attention.

Anakin wiped a towel across his face. "Yes. Rex, can you go into the city and retrieve a new transponder for the beacon on my ship? I'd go myself but I'm meeting with Obi Wan and I can't be late again or he'll kill me."

Rex hated going on Anakin's errands, but nodded. The walk might do him good. "Of course, sir."

Anakin smiled, "Thanks, Rex. I gotta go." He said, and tossed Akira the towel, he cringed and dropped it, turning to Rex.

Akira wiped his face with his shirt, revealing his muscled torso beneath. Rex flushed, thankful for his helmet.

"Want some company on that errand? I haven't been in the city in ages." Akira breathed, his hair dripping onto the mat.

Rex shifted uneasily. "Uhh, sure thing, sir."

Akira shrugged. "I don't have to-"

"No, no. I want you to, sir, I just, I've never left the temple with a Jedi unless it was for a mission."

Akira's smile returned. "I see. Well I look forward to it. Come with me to my quarters, I'll change and we'll be off."

Rex followed Akira up the series of steps to his quarters. The door opened to a living room with two large couches sandwiching a coffee table before a window. The wall facing the city was almost entirely glass, and a doorway off to the side Rex assumed led to his bedroom.

It was more modest than the senators' rooms but far better than his own. The decor was simple as jedi décor always was, but comfortable, with plush carpet and fine curtains.

Rex stood by the door, unsure. He'd never been in someone's private quarters unless he was guarding.

"I'll be back, make yourself comfortable." He said without turning around. Rex didn't move, watching the general disappear into what he guessed was his bedroom. What did that mean? He couldn't just sit on the man's couch, lounging like one of his friends, but he didn't want to be standing at attention next to the door either. He hesitated. Where was the line? He didn't want to dirty the carpet with his boots-

Akira reentered, and looked at Rex, his eyebrow raised. "You can enter, Rex."

Rex scratched the back of his neck, "I'm sorry sir, I just, I've never done this."

"Done what?"

"Anything with a Jedi. Just, missions, nothing beyond that. To be blunt, I don't know what I'm doing, sir."

"You've never spent time with Anakin? Been to his quarters?"

"Only if it had something to do with work."

Akira leaned against the counter. "Well Rex, I want you to act how you would with your men, say, Cody. I'm not your superior off the clock."

"Sir-"

"No sirs. My name's Akira."

Rex smiled. "Alright. Thank you."

"Great. Let's go."

Akira followed Rex out onto the street, and Rex felt strangely calm. He thought that Akira's presence would make him uncomfortable, being a jedi, one he didn't know well for that matter, but his curiosity about the city made Rex feel at ease. He asked many questions about what certain buildings were and what Rex thought of the city. They walked to the parts store and Rex paid for the part with Anakin's tab. Back on the street, Akira pointed to a restaurant, grabbing Rex's shoulder.

"Wanna get something to eat?"

"I don't have any money." Sir. But he stopped himself.

"I've got it, don't worry about it." Before he could answer, Akira was already hurrying over to the restaurant.

Rex followed him across the way to the diner, where the twi'lek waitress seated them. Rex took off his helmet, placing it on the table beside them. He combed through the menu, and ordered his usual burger. Akira ordered as well, and leaned back on the booth. "Tell me about yourself, Rex."

Rex shrugged. "There isn't much to tell."

"You're telling me a pistol wielding captain with jaig eyes on his helmet leads a boring life?"

Rex smirked. "Outside of my duties? Yes."

Akira watched him, his ice blue eyes searching. "What do the other men do for fun?"

"Get drunk, mainly. Gamble."

"That's not your scene?"

"No. I read."

Akira sipped his drink. "What do you read?"

Rex shrugged. "Everything. I go to the library every time we're here. Anakin gave me a special pass for the Jedi archives as well."

Akira raised an eyebrow, impressed. "When we return to the temple, if you'd like, I have books in my quarters. They vary wildly, so I'm sure you might find some of them interesting."

Rex quirked his head. "Th-thank you. I'd like that."

Their food came, and they ate their meals. Rex was careful not to eat as quickly as he did when he was in the field. Eating was for survival on missions, not for pleasure. Akira didn't seem to notice Rex's discomfort, however, and chatted on about how much he had enjoyed training younglings on Kamino a few weeks before his time as a guard was up. Once they were finished Akira paid and stood, stretching.

"Thank you for lunch, sir," Rex said.

"Don't call me sir, and it's my pleasure." Akira smirked, elbowing him.

Akira followed Rex back to the temple, and asked Rex back up to his quarters. Once inside, Rex removed his helmet and set it on the table beside the door. Akira led him into his bedroom, the large bed made neatly. His bookshelf was near the window, and Rex knelt down to examine the lower shelves. He loved physical copies of books, having issues with migraines when he read digitally.

"I've organized them by genre, fiction above, non-fiction like history and science below. I've books on many different things."

Rex stood, combing through the upper shelves. "That sounds very interesting" he said, pointing to a book on weapons building in ancient times.

Akira pulled the book off the shelf and handed it to him. "Borrow it then."

Rex took it, his mouth agape. "Thank you."

"And I know you were looking at this one," he said, and pulled the romance novel off the shelf. Rex reddened, and Akira laughed. "Why the embarrassment? I'm the one who purchased it." He pointed out, and leaned against the shelf. "It's a good one, too."

Rex smiled and Akira led him back out to the living room.

"Thank you. Really." Rex said, looking down at the books.

"Of course. I had a great time. I'm excited to hear your thoughts on them both." He said, nodding to the books.

Rex read both books in two nights, unable to put them down. He planned to train, walk, even swim on his leave, but he stayed in his quarters, turning pages in books. He identified heavily with the characters in the romance novel. It was a compelling mystery, driven and complicated by the emotion driven actions of the characters. He didn't expect anything that had happened, the book keeping him on the edge of his seat. The book on weapons helped him to better understand the 'why' beneath many of the weapons they and the separatists used in battle, and how far the technology had come from that point. He walked up to Akira's office the third day after his shift, knocking on Akira's door. It swung open, Akira's eyes red.

"Rex," he murmured, his voice gravelly.

Rex shrunk back. "I'm sorry, sir, I can come back another time."

"No, no. Please, come in." He stepped aside and Rex entered, feeling strangely exposed standing in the center of the room.

"Please, sit."

Rex sat on the edge of the couch, swallowing nervously.

Akira shut the door, rubbing his hands over his face. He looked up and saw Rex's concerned expression.

"I'm very glad you're here, I just, I had a terrible night's sleep, and a fall in training that's left me in some pain."

Rex smiled a little with relief. "I'm sorry to hear that, sir. Have you seen a medic?"

Akira smirked. "Yes, I actually talked to Kix about it. And Captain, every time you call me sir outside of the job I'm going to start punching you."

Rex barked a laugh, "I'm sorry. It's hard to stop."

Akira sat across from him, putting his drink on the small table.

"You've finished them?" Akira asked, gesturing to the books.

"Yes."

Akira smiled. "What did you think?"

"I liked them both."

Akira waited, his long fingers drumming on the table.

"That's all?"

Rex reddened.

Akira shook his head, "I don't mean that the way it sounded, I mean, I want to know what you thought. How you felt."

How he felt? Rex's mind whirred. He knew how he felt… but he wasn't sure how to translate it into words.

"I thought it was very interesting. The characters in the novel felt very, real." Once he'd started, he couldn't stop. The relationship, the symbolism, the torment… Akira responded in kind, pouring them both cup of tea after cup of tea. Akira's own comments on the book were spot on with everything Rex couldn't find the words to say, arming him with the words to use to further his own thoughts. They talked through the motives of the characters, why they had to do the terrible things they did, how there was rarely true good or evil.

When Rex looked out the window next, it was dark.

"We've been talking for hours," Rex marveled.

"Yes," Akira grinned, sipping his tea. Rex smiled back, for the first time truly meeting Akira's eyes. They were pools of melted sapphire, glimmering and inviting.

Akira stared back, seeming to search Rex for some sort of answer, but Rex didn't know the question.

"You won't get in trouble getting back this late will you?" Akira asked, still watching Rex's face.

Rex looked away. "Cody might be annoyed."

Akira chuckled. "I'll take the blame."

Something in Rex was disappointed, but he scolded himself. Why?

"Thank you, Akira."

Akira smiled, "Of course. Come back and borrow more, hmm?"

Rex nodded, making his way down to the bunks.

When he galloped down the stairs he crept around the corner, hoping to miss any patrols or superiors wandering around the barrack.

Instead he heard whispering, and turned the corner to bust whoever it was that was sneaking around the bunks this late.

But Rex paused, two men in their armor locked in an embrace, their lips pressed together. He stepped back around the corner, his mouth agape. Heat flushed his cheeks. Their lips never truly separated, desperate whispers pressed in with breaths. The fell into the room, the door shutting behind them, and he wandered down the hall to his room. He'd heard of a few isolated cases of men finding comfort in one another's company, but he hadn't really given it thought. There were so many men and so many rumors that he just brushed them aside these days.

Their trainers, the bounty hunters and Jango Fett, they pressed the idea that men were too strong to require comfort, that they were weak if they buckled. They pressed that the men were not to touch each other, that they would be deemed defective and reconditioned if they were found seeking pleasure with one another. Men liked women and anything beyond that was taunted in snide remarks and backhanded comments throughout their training. Rex had never given it another thought since then, never let his mind wander to the company of other men, of a lifestyle that would bring him nothing but pain. He wanted to be an ARC trooper and nothing was going to stand in his way. He didn't drink, gamble, party, or question orders. He didn't sneak out, he focused everything he had on training. Getting stronger and better. But seeing these two in the hall… was he the only one who hadn't humored the idea that maybe he wanted what they had? Maybe that was why he'd never wanted to take a woman from the saloon home with him, because he'd prefer a man?

"Rex?"

Cody's voice resounded through the room.

"Are you alright?"

Rex shook his head, "I think I'm ill."

Cody climbed off of the bunk, putting his hands on Rex's shoulders.

"Ill how?"

"I- I don't know. I just don't feel like myself."

Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate it. Reviews make me write faster, so please do! ;)