Old Friends Reunited and lost again - REUPLOAD

by ballawl

Re upload of one of my favorite stories. !SERIOUSLY GETTING SICK OF EITHER AUTHORS OR THE SITE TAKING DOWN GOOD STORIES, SERIOUSLY BUGGER OFF!

Old Friends, Reunited and Lost Again

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/23763193.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Shaak Ti Bo-Katan Kryze, Darth Maul, Ursa Wren, CC-2224 | Cody, Wullf Yularen, CT-0292 | Vaughn, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Dooku | Darth Tyranus, Grievous | Qymaen jai Sheelal, B1 Battle Droids (Star Wars), R2-D2 (Star Wars), Mace Windu

rexsoka, More or less Canon Compliant, Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Rex would very happily give her a Hug, Anakin is a good big brother, Obi-Wan misses his Hugs, Don't mess with Ahsoka, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Proof of how much Anakin Missed Ahsoka, Heartbroken Clones for only a Moment, Anidala, Obitine, Ahsoka makes Rex lose control, Never bet against a Skywalker, Elevators are the best place to talk, Rex is a Goner, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Lemons, Soft bed ahead :P, Battle of Coruscant fun!, Lekku are the Best things Ever, I'm very attached to my version of Mando'a, My Muse is officially a Tease, So much Anakin/Obi-Wan Snark, Death by Ahsoka's Lips, Who's the real Dom here?, Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti anyone?, Throwing Caution to the Wind, Inexperienced Rex is Hilarious, And the Fall begins, Mini Heats are Fun, Anakin's good at Not Letting Go

English

Part 1 of The Asunder Series

Published: 2020-04-21 Updated: 2022-03-04 Words: 64,483 Chapters:

34/?

Old Friends, Reunited and Lost Again

by TheLoneRebels

Summary

Ahsoka never thought she'd see her Master or her Captain again but circumstances dragged her back into their world. This triggers a shift in Anakin and Obi-Wan's floundering bond and comes with a new romance that she hadn't even contemplated before. Starts during CW S7E9 and just before RotS. Canon events will be followed with extra scenes and much fluff added.

Chapter 29: Captured Again is NEW!

Welcome Back

Hello there!

Thank you all soooooo much for checking out my story! And even more thanks in advance for any love you choose to show it; it's always deeply appreciated and inspiring. 3

TheLoneRebel

Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars characters and any OC's that resemble real people are entirely coincidental.

There is an explanation of how my calendar works and a list of helpful translations for my commonly used Star Wars words in 'Flame of Hope - Everyone' if you're curious.

A/N: Okay people. I said I wouldn't start a new story no matter what (hahahaha), but the new Clone Wars episode (7x9) has bitten me in the butt and it won't let go. I've watched it over and over, and now I just have to write a story based on it. (Edit: Many shorter chapters than normal to start with, but at least it got written. :P)

This story will stay mostly canon in terms of events with only a few little edits here and there. I'm just going to play with their relationships a bit. :D

And finally, I freaking love Ahsoka SOOOOOO much. She is my favourite Jedi of all time, whether she calls herself one or not. This story is dedicated to her.

Old Friends, Reunited and Lost Again

Welcome Back:

D344/20 BBY

Ahsoka had known this was going to be hard, but it was even worse than she'd thought.

Seeing Anakin again, all she'd wanted to do was run into his arms and hug him for an hour straight. She missed cuddling with her big brother so much it hurt. But she had a monster to catch and an entire people to save; taking time for affection just wasn't in the cards right now.

At least, that's what she'd told herself to ease the guilt at how devastated her former Master had looked when she'd forced herself to act like a cold hearted bitch to him to save her own heart from being hurt, since she knew that she couldn't re-establish her friendship with him. Not really. The Council would never let them.

Acting cold towards Obi-Wan, on the other hand, had been easy. He'd been one of the Council members who'd thrown her under the figurative speeder at that farce of a trial and hadn't stood up for her when he bloody well should have. She used to think of Master Kenobi as a beloved uncle, much like Master Plo. But they'd both allowed her to be put through hell because they didn't trust her word.

Only Anakin and Rex had stood up for her innocence, and they'd been ignored.

She just couldn't keep up the distant act with Anakin, though. He hadn't let her aloofness get to him during the meeting about capturing Darth Maul (during which time Obi-Wan acted even more like an arsehole Jedi than ever), but was nudging at their old bond with hopeful little knocks, just waiting to be let back in.

And then they were alone and he told her he had a surprise for her. Ahsoka caved. (And not just because she loved surprises.)

She dropped her shield and Anakin flooded their bond with joy and relief. She let him feel her own too. Let him feel how much it meant to her to see him again. By the time they'd made it to the doorway that led out of the command center, Ahsoka gave up entirely on trying to stay indifferent. With a mumbled, "Kriff it," she threw herself into his arms almost faster than he could catch her.

And oh, the relief in his strong hold. The way he whispered her name like a prayer. It made the struggle of living on her own for the last few months seem like a distant dream. Hanging on to him and breathing in the familiar scent of his robes was everything that had been missing from her life. She'd spent so many hours snuggled into his side as she slept after long battles or did homework while eating in the mess hall that it had felt like a portion of her was missing when she walked away from the clearly flawed Order.

The hug lasted only a minute, but it felt like a perfect eternity. He whispered, "I missed you, Snips," into the side of her montral, and it was almost enough to make her cry.

Ahsoka reluctantly pulled out of his clinging embrace and smiled up at him with a wavering smile as she blinked back the threatening moisture in her eyes. "I missed you more, Skyguy."

His warm chuckle filled the empty spaces in her heart that she'd inflicted on herself by walking away from him so many months ago.

His next words made her laugh too as they left the command room.

Anakin looked her up and down assessingly, his blue eyes shining with pride and amusement. "You know, you grew some more. At this rate, you'll be taller than Rex by the time you're done, and he won't like that at all."

Grinning, she nudged her shoulder into his arm as they walked down the familiar corridors of the Venator that felt like home to her. "Maybe then he'll stop trying to tell me that he still outranks me based on experience."

He threw his head back, his curly hair longer than she'd ever seen it, and he laughed loud enough and long enough to draw smiles from passing by clones.

Clones who called her Commander and saluted her as if she'd never left.

Her smile faded and confusion set in. Most of them weren't even from the 501st but were painted in orange stripes because they were on Obi-Wan's flagship. She'd never had command of the 212th, but Anakin's and Obi-Wan's units had worked together so often that the 212th had always felt like an extension of the 501st.

It was disconcerting to be shown such respect by them when she'd all but abandoned them. And she'd told Anakin so as they walked wherever they were going. "They shouldn't salute me anymore. Not since I left the Order."

She felt Anakin mentally flinch at the reminder, but he hid it quickly behind his words. "It doesn't matter to them. It's a sign of respect. They know what you went through for them, day after day, battle after battle. Loyalty means everything to the clones."

Her breath caught. But in the end, I LEFT them. How is that loyal?

She never got a chance to ask it, because they'd arrived at one of the many doors that led into the large central hangar. It opened for Anakin as a sense of pleased anticipation flowed down their bond. Whatever his surprise was, it was here.

She looked inside, and those tears from earlier threatened to make another appearance.

Rex stood there, at the front of a squad of the 501st, looking handsome and fit. And in his arm was a helmet painted orange, with HER white forehead markings on it. In fact, every clone in the squad had an orange painted helmet.

Oh Force. What have they done?! I don't deserve this. I don't.

"Company! Ten hut!" Rex called, and they all turned and presented themselves smartly, like she was a Grand Admiral or something.

I can't do this! I can't do this! Her feet were frozen to the floor.

Anakin, sensing her reluctance, gave her a mental nudge and said, "Go ahead. They've been waiting to see you."

Her feet still weren't convinced. But Anakin was so happy for her, and Rex was practically beaming, even though he was trying to keep a straight face, so she stepped into the hangar and pretended like she wasn't dismayed beyond words as she walked up the middle of their ranks. What hurt even more was the fact that she recognized every single Force signature under the identical armour. They were all men that she'd fought with countless times and were the best of Rex's squad, most of them surviving almost two whole years of pointless battles.

Their tribute to her was beyond anything she'd ever deserved to have.

And she was touched to the very core of her being.

She could feel how much these clones loved her, and she'd forgotten (or forced herself to forget) how much she loved them back.

But none so much as Rex, she thought as she turned back when Anakin explained that they'd painted their helmets as soon as they heard she was coming back.

She walked up to the blond clone, whose golden brown eyes were soaking her in like she was the last drink of water before a two day trek across the Dune Sea, and her chest clenched with pain at how much she'd missed him too.

If Anakin was her big brother, then Rex was her best friend.

At least, he had been, before she'd left him behind as well.

And how it hurt that there wasn't even an ounce of blame or betrayal in the clone Captain's eyes.

He was just happy to see her again.

Oh, Rexi... You're too good for me.

She vowed in that moment to never abandon Anakin and Rex again, even if the best she could do was send them a holo message every other day on the sly.

His Commander

His Commander:

Rex had never been more nervous in his life.

None of his training exercises on Kamino, falling off whatever high place his Jedi had chosen to toss him off of without warning, nor facing down a thousand battle droids in real life came even close to making him sweat in his bodysuit like this endless period of waiting did.

Even though his brothers had jumped all over it with much enthusiasm, it had been his idea to paint their helmets orange and white in a show of tribute to their (finally) returning Commander. Now, as the minutes dragged by, he was second guessing himself bigtime.

What if she hates it?

What if she's offended?

Shab, I'm a sentimental di'kut. This is sooooo going to come back and bite me on the shebs isn't it?

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other before he remembered himself and stood equally again. He wasn't willing to show any obvious signs of nervousness in front of his brothers. Not when he knew they would rib him unmercifully when they were back in the barracks and he wasn't necessarily the Captain anymore but their big brother.

What if she doesn't even show up and we went to all this work for nothing? What if Anakin can't get her here?

No, that's stupid. Of course he'll get her here. I have her lightsabres, after all. I know she'd go through the seven Corellian hells to get them back, cause she said so once.

I wonder how she's been all this time without them?

I bet she misses them like hell.

Maybe even as much as I miss her.

Did she miss me?

Please, please, let her have missed me too. I don't know if I could stand knowing that she only thought of me as just another clone. She was friendly with all of us, so maybe I was mistaken about how close we were.

Rex was pulled from his maudlin thoughts as the door they were facing in eager anticipation finally –FINALLY! – opened.

And there she was, standing beside the General just like before. Where she belonged.

Ahsoka.

His Commander.

His everything.

Shab! She's grown up even more! Maybe not a fully mature female yet, but certainly not that itty bitty thing I first met.

He'd caught a glimpse of her from afar when she'd arrived in the Kom'rk fighter with the Mandalorians, but now he could drink in her new appearance without being impeded by various people and ships in his way. He absolutely adored her new outfit. It was like a perfect mix between her old fighting clothes and Mandalorian armour. And the slate blue and grey colour of it suited her much better than her original burgundy had, in his humble opinion.

Even her new headband was no-nonsense durasteel and looked like it had a built in communicator. His only problem with it was that it covered up some of her forehead markings. But on the plus side, it seemed to emphasize her beautiful sky blue eyes even more than he remembered.

She's so karking gorgeous. He had to stifle the sigh of adoration that almost escaped, forcing his posture to remain proud and stationary. His inner thirteen year old boy was doing cartwheels to see her again and it took him a few seconds longer than it should have to call the squad of his brothers to attention for ceremonial inspection. (A squad of brothers who'd literally drawn straws to be here because so many of them had wanted the honour of being one of the few who got to see her first and wear the helmet painted with her markings.)

But he did, and she finally walked in after Anakin gave her a little encouragement. Rex didn't know what her wide-eyed and shocked look meant, but he sincerely hoped it was a good thing and not disgust at the orange helmeted display he and his brothers had put on.

Trying to calm his racing heart and keep his expression properly neutral was one of the hardest things he'd had to do in recent memory. And considering that near catastrophe of a battle on Cato Neimoidia that had almost lost them General Kenobi, that was saying something. (Thank the Force for Anakin's faster than light reflexes.)

After she'd walked past him, Rex moved to stand beside Anakin, who gave him a proud grin and a quick nod to indicate that Ahsoka was surprised but not displeased. Thank kriff, Rex thought with relief, some of the tension easing from his muscles. Anakin had had to approve their new helmet design, of course, and had thankfully been very enthusiastic about the idea. (His Jedi General had missed Ahsoka just as much as Rex had, no question.)

"Soon as Rex and the boys heard you were coming back, they got to work," Anakin said, causing Ahsoka to turn around and come back towards them. Her gaze shot to his and he gave her a little shrug and a half-assed grin. What can I say? I'm a sap.

Knowing his body language like she did, and probably reading his emotions, a hint of a smile settled on those plush burgundy lips that he'd dreamed of kissing so many times he'd lost count years ago. She came to a stop in front of him and he presented the helmet in his hand for closer inspection. "Paint job's a little crude, but we think it gets the idea across."

She touched the helmet with gentle, caressing fingers only a shade lighter than the paint they'd chosen. Rex was so invested in every one of her movements, he could almost imagine that she was touching his own skin that way. Heart skipping with joy and just a little bit of ill-timed lust, he said, with every ounce of said organ behind the words, "Glad to have you back, Commander."

She looked up at him, and those trusting, beautiful, grateful eyes got to him again, exactly the way they had the first time he'd met her almost three years ago. And he knew in that moment, with that look, that she'd missed him too and he wasn't just another clone to her. "Rex, thank you." My name! I missed hearing her say my name! "But you don't have to call me Commander anymore."

Oh, her voice. It isn't the same. She sounded almost... defeated. And that just won't do. Not at all. So he did what he'd always done when she needed a moral boast, he gave her his full support. And the best way he knew to do that in this instance was to reassure her that she would always be his Commander, whether she officially held the title or not.

He smiled at her gently and said, "Sure thing... Commander."

The look of gratitude and a hint of amusement in her eyes made the last few – very long and miserable - months without her disappear as if they'd never happened.

Rex finally had his Ahsoka back.

Big Brother

Big Brother:

Anakin wore an indulgent smile as Ahsoka inspected Rex's surprise. A surprise that the Jedi Knight thought was truly inspired and touching. And showed just how much Rex and his brothers respected and loved the petite Togrutan girl that in any normal world would never have been leading grown soldiers into battle.

But she did, and once she gained confidence in herself, she did it well.

Having a really good teacher didn't hurt anything, either, he thought a little smugly as Ahsoka told Rex that he didn't have to call her Commander anymore.

But of course, the clone did again anyway. Rex loved Ahsoka, after all. And not just sibling love like the other clones gathered here felt, but real, true love that shone in the Force if you wanted to see it.

Ahsoka had won over the best soldier in the GAR almost from the very first moment they'd met, and Anakin will always remember the first time he'd caught Rex gazing after Ahsoka with his heart in eyes while she sparred with Obi-Wan during one of their many long trips through hyperspace.

He'd nudged the Captain who'd become one of his best friends in only a few short months with an elbow and flicked his eyes over at the girl in question who was leaping around the older Jedi like a graceful dancer. "You do know that as long as she's my Padawan, I'm obliged to kill you if you act on the thoughts in your head, right?"

Rex had turned to him with wide eyes and gulped audibly. "Uhhhh. I couldn't possibly know what you're talking about, Sir. Us clones aren't programmed to have any indecent or romantic thoughts."

Anakin had snorted. "Ha. That's a load of bantha poodoo. I've see the posters you boys tack up all over the place and the paintings on the gunships." Rex had actually blushed. The memory was still hilarious. "I don't begrudge you your feelings for her, but I want your promise here and now that you won't act on them until she's old enough to return them with full confidence in what she's doing. And that means after she's old enough to be a Knight and can ignore a certain part of the code like I do, understood?"

Rex had nodded quickly, a sense of peace settling around him as he accepted the terms and a content smile crossed his face. "Understood. Thank you for not just slicing me in half like a tinny."

Anakin had shot him a look. "Oh. I thought about it, no question. She IS mine to protect, after all, and you ARE considerably older than her, both in body and mind, if not in actual age."

Rex had winced, and then smiled ruefully. "Yeah, well, as far as she's concerned, my hormones are quite convinced that I'm eleven years old in every way you can think of."

"Force," Anakin sympathized, remembering how possessed his body had felt at the same age, dreams and visions of a naked Padmè wrecking havoc with his sleep on a regular basis. "It's a good thing you're not ruled by your hormones, then, isn't it?"

Rex had huffed a sigh and returned his longing gaze to Ahsoka. "If it makes you feel better to think

that, Sir, then go right ahead."

Anakin had blinked at the blond man and then chosen to do exactly that.

Almost three years later, Rex still wore that same look in his eyes, and Anakin had to wonder how Ahsoka had never noticed. The poor man was absolutely gone over her and undoubtedly always would be. She hadn't even noticed that Rex had all but stopped eating and had basically communicated in grunts only when she went through her crushing on Lux Bonteri phase.

And Rex had probably been even more depressed than Anakin when she'd left the Order and had disappeared without a word as to where she was or how she was doing. They'd both understood that she was hurt and probably hiding, but that hadn't made it any easier to not KNOW that she was okay, even if Anakin was fairly sure he would have sensed it if she was in any real danger; their bond was too strong for it not to be so, no matter how much she blocked it or how far away from him she ended up.

The initial reunion of his Padawan and his Captain had gone better than his own with her had, but Anakin couldn't begrudge them that. He'd been afraid that things would be a little tense between him and Ahsoka when they saw each again for the first time after parting in such a tragic way, and he'd been right.

But it was all better now, their bond wide open again and their unbreakable friendship right back where it was before. Because she was his family, and always would be, at least as far as he was concerned. I hope it will always be that way, being able to pick up where we left off like that, no matter how many months or years pass between the times we see each other.

When he'd first found out that Ahsoka was coming back to ask for help for Mandalore, he'd hoped that she would consider joining the Order again, but now that he'd seen her, felt how at peace she was within herself in a way he'd never quite found on his own, he knew he would never ask her to return to a place that had hurt her so deeply. And if that meant that their visits ended up being few and far between, so be it. Better she be happy and elsewhere than miserable and close.

It also strengthened his resolve to leave the Order when the war was over, because he wanted to be at peace and happy too, and he would never find it with an Order that forbid relationships. Just look at poor Obi-Wan. His former Master had been miserable ever since Duchess Satine died, and the way Lady Kryze had attacked him with her memory had just made it even worse. (He'd felt Obi-Wan withdraw even deeper into his emotionless safe zone.) Ignoring your feelings for the sake of an antiquated code or the greater good of the Order was simply not worth it.

At the moment, Ahsoka and Rex were looking at each other in a way that gave Anakin hope that she was finally starting to realize that Rex would be more than just a friend if she'd let him, but he couldn't let the silence drag on for more than a prolonged second or two or someone was bound to notice that a clone was making goo goo eyes at a (former) Jedi, and technically, he shouldn't be endorsing such things.

So he regretfully broke the moment, confident that they'd find another one – preferably without witnesses – to continue it.

Acting as if there was nothing abnormal or illicit about the situation at all, Anakin grinned like an eager puppy and nudged Rex to hold up the wooden box tucked under his left arm. "Oh. I have one more surprise for you."

Ahsoka's eyes shot to his and then down to the box Anakin took from Rex and held out to her.

He knew she knew what was the in the box. He could see it in her eyes and feel it in their bond. She shot him a look filled with such gratitude that it made his chest hurt. She's been without them for so long. That had to suck to lose the bond to her crystals on top of everything else. Maybe not quite as bad as losing a limb, but definitely like losing a good friend. I know how both feel, unfortunately.

Ahsoka touched the box, anticipation heavy in the air as he heard the Kyber crystals inside the box start singing with joy. He held his breath, and Rex did too, beside him. Kriff, everyone did. Even the orange helmeted clones who where probably watching through the wide range display of their H.U.D.s. since they were still facing side-on to their little drama.

And then an alarm started to wail throughout the hangar. Her hand withdrew from the box and the moment was lost.

Anakin almost cursed the man he could feel rapidly approaching for the rotten timing, somehow just knowing that the alarm was Obi-Wan's doing.

Jedi Master

A/N: So... A certain smooth talking Jedi has been having fits because I wasn't going to include his point of view in this story, and so far I've made him out to be a bit of a jerk. Sigh. So now he gets his own chapters too wherever appropriate.

Jedi Master:

Obi-Wan left the communication center in a proud and mostly unhurried rush, desperate to get away from everything, but unwilling to look like it.

Away from Ahsoka, who reminded him of how he'd failed her when she needed his support and how he should have known better than to doubt her.

Away from Anakin, whose clinging attachment to his returned Padawan reminded the weary Jedi of how he'd epically failed his student in teaching him how to let go because he wasn't really all that good at it himself, even though he pretended to be like his life depended on it.

And most especially away from Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, who just had to go and remind him of Satine, his biggest failure of all.

Obi-Wan stalked across the bridge, Cody and the other officers wisely moving out of the way of the scowling Jedi in the billowing robe, and parked himself in front of the big window to stare out at space like it had all of the answers.

It didn't.

His life was a shitstorm and he didn't know how to fix it. Was afraid he'd never fix it. Because the one person who he would have been inspired to fix it for was gone and his will to really LIVE was most assuredly gone with her.

Satine had represented everything that was wrong with him as a Jedi Master and he still struggled with it, even after her death that he hadn't been able to prevent. She had been his temptation, his salvation, and his destruction.

She'd tempted him from the Jedi way. She'd rescued him from his own guilt. And she'd left him bereft and empty when she was gone, making him realize that his life could have, and should have, been entirely different. He should have had a life with her.

But he didn't, so he clung with everything he had to what he had left; the Jedi Order and Anakin, who still hadn't quite forgiven him for faking his own death or Ahsoka's brutal expulsion from the Order. The bond that had once been so strong between them was now strained and almost... fake. Like Anakin was going through the motions of their friendship but nothing more.

He hadn't realized quite how bad it had gotten until Anakin saw Ahsoka again in that initial holo transmission and for a few moments had let down his guard. What Obi-Wan had felt from his former Padawan was a love for the girl that he no longer felt towards himself. Anakin had been so happy to see her, like she was a lifeline that he'd been missing as he struggled through a riotous ocean, and it had made Obi-Wan hurt something awful to realize that Anakin didn't want him to be his lifeline anymore. Didn't TRUST him to be his lifeline anymore.

Not that a Jedi was supposed to need lifelines, but even Windu acknowledged that they had to support each other, especially in these particularly trying times.

With every passing day and not-so-secret illicit transmission to Padmè, Obi-Wan had realized that he was losing Anakin. May even be losing him for good by the end of all this.

Even with his revelations regarding Satine, Obi-Wan still couldn't decide if he should encourage Anakin to walk away from the Order as well or not. It went against everything he believed in, but at the same time, he wanted the young man who used to be his best friend to be happy above all else.

Padmè and Ahsoka made Anakin happy.

Happy in a way that Obi-Wan knew he would never feel again. He'd lost his chance to be happy with Satine. Probably wrecked his friendship with Anakin forever. And most definitely ruined his relationship with his Grandpadawan.

And frag, was Ahsoka ever cold to him. She treated him like a suspicious stranger; distant and only just polite enough to not be outright rude. He supposed he deserved it, but it still hurt. A lot. The little Togruta used to give him hugs filled with love. She used to tease him. She used to call him Master Redi-Wan, teasing him about both his hair colour and his willingness to spar anytime, any place, both verbally and with their sabres. She used to put her head on his lap and purr like a kitten as he stroked a lek with whisper soft fingers, putting her to sleep, whenever Anakin wasn't around (probably visiting Padmè) to do the nightly ritual for her.

Togrutans were highly sensual beings, which made it rare for them to have the right personality to be a Jedi. Ahsoka had somehow found the balance between that and the inner peace required to follow the Jedi Code. She was amazing. One of the most gifted Jedi that had ever been produced by the Order. And she'd walked away from it all because he and the Council had made a dreadful mistake. Were still making mistakes if the ever growing darkness in the Force was anything to go by.

Anakin wasn't the only one who'd missed her affectionate ways when she'd left.

And now she was back. But it wasn't the same. At least not for him. Behind him, he could feel Anakin and Ahsoka reaffirming their close bond, and, as usual, it was like a dance of pure energy in the Force. Nearly every Jedi that had ever encountered them together had pulled him to the side at some point and mentioned that they'd never felt such a strong Master/Padawan bond before, and that they either envied it or were very worried by it. Obi-Wan fell in the 'both' category.

Unfortunately, Ahsoka's return included that red haired female that had tried to use his... friendship... with Satine to manipulate him into fighting her war for her. Granted, it's a war involving Maul, so I was bound to say yes anyway, but... Force curse all manipulative Mandalorian females anyway.

Growling under his breath, Obi-Wan stalked back to the now empty communication room now that he could feel that the younger Jedi - well, Jedi and sort-of Jedi – had left, probably to go see Captain Rex's surprise. The Council isn't going to like the idea of getting involved with Mandalore. Not at all.

It took almost five minutes to raise someone at the Jedi Temple on the comm, which worried him to no end, and when he did, he got a harried looking Master Windu. "Obi-Wan, thank kriff. I was just about to comm you."

"What is it, Mace?"

Two minutes of quick explanation later, Obi-Wan was sticking his head out the door and yelling into the bridge to Cody to sound the alarm and prepare the fleet for an imminent jump into lightspeed with a destination of Coruscant. And then he ran to the hangar to go break the news to Ahsoka that they couldn't possibly go to Mandalore right now.

Because the bloody Chancellor needed them.

Again.

Discordant Sounds

Discordant Sounds:

Ahsoka couldn't believe it when Anakin held the box out to her. It hadn't occurred to her that she'd be given her sabres back, not with the way she'd left things with the Order.

But of course, Anakin, her wonderful, wonderful Anakin, had managed to get them for her.

She touched the wooden box in more than a little bit of awe, just listening to the familiar song of her Kyber crystals as they sensed her presence and woke up. The harmonious song of the two crystals was something she was used to hearing in the background of her mind at all times and it felt like a little piece of her that had been missing had finally returned.

Anticipation rushed through her as she tensed her fingers to open the lid, but it was abruptly cut off by the wail of the emergency siren, warning everyone on board the Venator that a jump into battle was about to happen and that they should be hot-footing it for their battle stations or reporting to their Commanding Officer.

The siren clashed harshly with the much more subtle sound of her singing lightsabres and made her flinch.

Clones immediately started running all over the place, except for Rex's squad who quivered with an automatic reaction to move, but not knowing exactly where to, since this wasn't their ship, they stood still. And technically, they were already in the presence of their C.O.

Ahsoka looked around at the controlled chaos, hope blooming in her that the siren signalled that the Council had approved Bo's plea for help for her people. But then a brown robed Master Kenobi came running in through the automatic door that had opened for him a few steps before he'd even arrived, the sensors adjusting to open it sooner for running people so no one ran into it in their rush.

Ahsoka had noticed that Obi-Wan had worn his brown robe the entire time she'd seen him today, which admittedly wasn't all that long, but he'd been wearing it during her transmission from yesterday too. He never used to wear it indoors before unless he was feeling under the weather from an injury or something, taking comfort from the extra layer. She had a feeling that he was now using it as a way to hide in his Jediness the same way his emotions were closed off from everyone. He was not the same Obi-Wan that she used to snuggle with at all. This was the Jedi Master at his worst, and she had to wonder how Anakin was dealing with that.

She'd initially thought that their relationship was as strong as ever based on how they still bantered and stood side by side as a united force, but now that she had let Anakin back into their bond, she could feel how frustrated he was with his former Master. And now that she thought to look, their Force signatures didn't reach for each other like they used to but stayed stiffly in their own personal space.

Something was definitely wrong in paradise.

The bearded Jedi Master who'd somehow developed a very obvious fringe of grey at his temples in less than a year at the young age of thirty-eight had come to a stop near the taller Jedi Knight, looking rather harried. (And that was the answer to his grey hairs, wasn't it? Too many years of war and even more years of trying to rein in the unstoppable force known as Anakin Skywalker.

Obi-Wan always did say that Anakin was going to make him old before his time; he hadn't been kidding.) "Anakin. Rex," he barked. "Prepare all forces. We're jumping to hyperspace immediately."

Rex snapped to, only glancing at her for half a second with a look in his eyes that she felt meant something more than she was quite able to figure out. "Yes. Sir." He spun and addressed his squad. "Men, with me!"

The orange helmeted men followed after Rex in neat lines as they all ran for a gunship parked deeper in the hangar. Ahsoka watched them for a couple of precious seconds. Please let that not be the last time I see him. Please.

Anakin had turned to Obi-Wan, hope radiating from him. "So the attack on Mandalore was approved?"

Ahsoka couldn't help a little smile despite the siren still ringing through her montrals uncomfortably. He's so sweet, how he cares about this because I do.

"No, it's Coruscant," Obi-Wan replied. She and Anakin glanced at each other to share their surprise. "Grievous has attacked the Capital."

That was bold, she thought with a raised eyebrow marking. Maybe the giant clanker is getting tired of the war as well.

Anakin frowned as worry took over his emotional landscape. "What about the Chancellor?"

He would think of that old fuddy first, she thought with a huge eye roll that almost made her dizzy.

I still don't know how Anakin can be so attached to the man. He's such a superficial sleemo.

"Shaak Ti has been sent to protect him, but Master Windu has lost contact with her."

Ooooo. That's not good. I hope she's okay. Don't know if I can say the same about the Chancellor, though. Honestly, I think the galaxy would be better off with someone else running the Senate. Someone who actually cares about the people. Someone like Padmè.

Anakin, of course, looked even more worried about his old friend now. But to his credit, he flicked a glance at Ahsoka with an apology in their bond. He knew just as well as she did that Mandalore wouldn't be getting help as quickly as they needed it because of this if Obi-Wan didn't change his priorities. Not that she thought Anakin would want Obi-Wan to change his priorities, but there was always the faint hope.

Obi-Wan, to his credit, tried to reassure Anakin. "Not to worry. Our fleet can be there within the hour."

Yes. But what about Mandalore? Are you going to ignore them completely like you do your feelings? Or just put them further down on the list of places that need help? "So that's it?" she blurted angrily at the injustice of it all. "You're going to abandon Bo-Katan and her people?"

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan sighed, as if she didn't have a perfectly good point. "Surely you understand this is a pivotal moment in the Clone Wars. The heart of the Republic is under attack."

Big whoop-di-do. The whole galaxy has been under attack for years. So what if it comes a little closer to home? Maybe then the Senate will actually be convinced to DO something instead of sitting on their shebs and living the good life. It's not like the battle is actually going to take over the entirety of Coruscant. There's a decided lack of fields to fight in for one thing. It'll probably all

be in space.

She didn't quite have the nerve to say all that, but that didn't stop her from being a bit more biting with what she did say than she necessarily needed to be. "I understand that, as usual, you're playing politics. This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi. I had, too, until I was reminded of what the Order means to people who truly need us." People like Trace, Rafa, and Nyx. (Nyx was Trace's boyfriend, who the younger sister had met months ago when he showed up to buy Ahsoka's old speeder bike. Ahsoka quite liked the brown haired Human from the few times she'd seen him over the holocomm.)

Obi-Wan was basically glaring at her now, which was just fine. At least it meant that she was striking a nerve. "Right now people on Coruscant need us."

"No. The Chancellor needs you," she spat back. She ignored the little burst of hurt that Anakin felt at that because she had to if she was going to make her point sink in.

Her former Grandmaster reared back like she'd slapped him. Good. Maybe he'll finally get that I mean what I say.

"That's not fair," he said, actual hurt in his tone.

Ahsoka ignored the way Anakin was looking between them like they'd both grown a second head or something because of their unprecedented fight and set herself in a stubborn, immovable stance, refusing to back down from what she'd started. "I'm not trying to be," she all but growled, only just repressing the urge to show off her fangs to help remind the older man that just because she was cute and cuddly, she was still a hunter at heart.

The former friends glared at each other, hard sky blue eyes locked on stormy blue grey.

Inspired Plan

Inspired Plan:

Anakin could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were actually FIGHTING. They never fought. It just wasn't done. And their words were downright cutting. Especially Ahsoka's. His little sister had gone and grown up and started forming her own opinions while she was living on her own. He was so proud.

Granted, some of her opinions made him flinch.

He didn't like that she was all but dissing the Chancellor - a man who had done nothing but earn his respect and friendship for years, not to mention supported him when the Order had not - but he still had to respect the fact that she was standing up for herself against Obi-Wan Kenobi. The same Jedi Master who could literally talk circles around people in his sleep.

Kark, I think she just won. Or at least brought it to a stalemate.

And wow, that was COLD.

Ouch.

Anakin looked from the Togrutan girl to his former Master and quickly came to the conclusion that they would happily glare at each until the figurative escaped nerfs came home on their own. Or the war ended all by itself. Whichever unlikely scenario came first. And since the tension in the air was practically palpable and was sending the Force around them into literally hissy fits that rubbed the fine hairs on his body the wrong way, Anakin knew he needed to break this up with a truly inspired solution that hopefully neither would find fault with.

And that meant giving Ahsoka some of his men, because he was with Obi-Wan on this one; he had to go rescue the Chancellor from Grievous. But he also wasn't willing to let Ahsoka go seeking out Maul on her own without some serious backup, knowing she'd do just that if they left her now. If Obi-Wan couldn't kill the Sith monster after multiple tries, then he had no doubt that Ahsoka would also have great difficulty in doing so. And she seemed to want to capture him, which was even harder than killing.

"I'll divide the 501st," he blurted out into the silence, drawing their glares towards him. "Make a new division under Ahsoka's command." Fortunately those glares changed to curiosity or he would have been very hurt by their combined... dissatisfaction. Yeah, we'll go with that. At least it's not outright hate yet.

What a sad lot we are. We used to be so happy together; such a perfect little family. Now Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are glaring daggers. Obi-Wan doesn't trust me and I don't trust him to tell me the truth anymore. Obi-Wan didn't trust Ahsoka when he should have and she's still hurt by that. And she's only just barely comfortable being here, no matter how hard the boys and I have tried to welcome her back.

Obi-Wan and the kriffing stupid Council has ruined everything. I hope he knows that.

"Unfortunately, Ahsoka is no longer part of the Grand Army of the Republic," Obi-Wan said, not sounding even remotely sorry for that little fact.

And there he goes again, making everything more difficult than it has to be.

Fine. I can work with that. This was WAY overdue anyway. "We'll promote Rex to Commander and have him lead the division." He looked at his Apprentice. "Ahsoka can go with him as an advisor. What do you say?"

Please say yes, he tried to convey with his eyes and down their bond to the girl who would always be his Padawan, no matter how many years passed.

Her love flooded him as she looked back at him with enough gratitude in her gaze to make him feel like the smartest Master ever and ten metres tall. "I accept. That is, if Obi-Wan agrees." The warmth in her gaze instantly disappeared when she turned her big eyes on the older Jedi. Ha. Serves you right, old man. You don't deserve her love anymore anyway.

Anakin joined Ahsoka in her stare down of his former Master, both just daring him to say no to the perfectly reasonable solution.

He wisely did not, sighing ever so slightly before saying, "Very well."

Yes!

Ahsoka nodded respectfully to Obi-Wan, her expression softening towards him.

Sensing the change in her attitude, Anakin could feel Obi-Wan latch onto it with eager hope. That's surprising. Maybe he doesn't actually WANT to be as closed off as he is. "May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan said sincerely before turning to leave. Hunh. Maybe those two will reconcile after all. That would be good. One can never have too many real friends. Although... If she forgives him than I guess I would have to as well. Kark.

I'll think about that later. For now... Obi-Wan agreed with my plan!

Master and Padawan shared a quick look of triumph, bringing back so many flashes of memory from when they'd done the same before. So many battles won. So many fun sparing sessions. So many successful pranks on their clone brothers and Obi-Wan.

Force, I missed her.

They both looked back towards the doorway when they felt Obi-Wan stop and look back. What now?

Obi-Wan gave Ahsoka a concerned look of warning before saying, "One other thing; I killed Maul once just to capture him. He doesn't seem to stay dead." Now THAT'S an understatement. How many times has he cut pieces off of that Sith shabuir?

And with that, Obi-Wan swept out through the automatic door.

Anakin found himself staring at the closed door blankly for a moment, mind spinning about forgiveness and friendship and death as a chill ran down his spine. Why do I suddenly feel like I'm running out of time to make things right again with Obi-Wan?

He shook the feeling off as Ahsoka stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking herself into his side. "Thanks for the support, as always," she said as he looked down at her in surprise.

Warmth filled him from toes to scalp again. He grinned down at her and wrapped his free arm

around her back in a brotherly hug, careful not to squash her back lek. "That's what friends are for."

She leaned her head against his shoulder and he tucked his cheek against the velvety soft skin of her montral that wasn't anywhere near as far down as it used to be when he first met her. They both sighed in contentment at the same time and then chuckled in amusement, sky blue and sapphire blue eyes meeting for a moment. She settled against him and started purring. Anakin had never heard a better sound in his life. (Okay, not true, Padmè's cries of bliss were a little higher up on his favourite sounds list, but he most certainly wasn't thinking about that right now.)

He'd never admit to Ahsoka how much he'd needed her to come back, but he had a feeling that she knew.

Good Luck

Good Luck:

With the siren still wailing away in the background and reminding her of an impending jump to a place she couldn't go back to yet, Ahsoka couldn't stay wrapped around her Master any longer than half a minute or so. But the hug had been so nice while it lasted, even better than the first one. With every minute that she spent in Anakin's presence, the more it felt like they had never parted.

It was the best therapy for her soul she could ask for. Her bond with Anakin told her that he was feeling the same.

Nevertheless, she stepped backwards anyway. Duty called.

Anakin gave her a rueful smile, no words necessary between them as they both felt that pull of unconditional heroism that they were inevitably drawn towards over and over again. He dragged in a deep, slightly shuddering inhale and then glanced down at the box in his gloved right hand as if he'd nearly forgotten about it. His rueful smile deepened and he crinkled his amused eyes at her as he held up the box again. "If you're going to face Maul, you'll need these."

And just like that, it was like time had been rewound to five minutes ago; before the sirens had started and Obi-Wan had dashed in to ruin her dream of fighting with her Master again in a noble cause that actually meant something, unlike some of the pointless battles that they'd suffered through over the years.

Her fingers gently touched the lid of the box again. She focused on the beautiful song of her crystals again. Anakin held his breath again.

But there was no Rex or his brothers holding theirs.

They were gone already, Rex's strong Force presence getting further and further away. She pushed her sudden reawareness of Rex and the sorrow of only getting to see him for a minute to the back of her mind with determination. She'd dwell on that later, instead focusing on the moment.

With Anakin's anticipation at her reaction flooding their bond and reminding her of a trembling puppy who was being sooooooo good but desperately wanted to jump and bounce and bark and wriggle with joy, she opened the box.

And there they were, looking exactly as she remembered them, if decidedly cleaner. The lingering waste residue of Coruscant's sewer systems had been scrubbed off of her main lightsabre and both gleamed with the high shine of well loved metal.

Force, I missed these. Granted, fighting without them has certainly been an interesting learning experience, but it will be so nice to have them again.

She reached in and picked them up almost reverently, the joyous song in her mind increasing in volume almost loud enough to drown out the siren for a few moments before the crystals settled down again. They felt so right in her hands, like missing appendages that had been magically returned. She couldn't stop looking at them.

"I took care of them," Anakin said proudly. "They're good as new."

Okay, she could. Ahsoka looked up at him, smiling in thanks and amusement. I bet you have. You

never could resist tinkering with anything mechanical that you could get your hands on.

Sensing the gist of the thought, he smirked a smidge.

She turned them on and nearly laughed out loud. Why am I not surprised?

Her formerly green lightsabres were blue. Very very blue.

The only way he could have done that to them would be if he'd kept them with him for the entire time she'd been gone, sleeping with them beside his own under his pillow and everything, thus changing the base colour of the crystals to one that reflected his incredibly brave personality.

Ahsoka shot her Master a look of half-hearted admonishment for messing with the colour of her crystals. (It was actually very sweet that he'd missed her so much that he'd slept with her lightsabres and made her love him all the more.)

He smirked back. "Maybe a little better."

A little better, my ass. They're blue! It'll take me hours and hours of dedicated meditating to turn them green again, you arse, and you kriffing well know it!

Anakin laughed in her mind, still picking up the gist of her more enthusiastic thoughts because their bond was that open right now.

Ignoring him for a moment, she gave them an experimental twirl. It felt so good to have them back in her hands, to use the muscles that she'd kept fit for just this moment with practice sticks. (Bo and Ursa had enjoyed helping her train a little too much.) But the sticks couldn't even compare to how perfect it felt to wield her lightsabres again.

"You Capture Maul, I'll take care of Grievous," he said with utter confidence in their abilities as she was reconnecting with her sabres. "With any luck, this will all be over soon." And maybe we can finally live normal lives again, the thought hung unsaid on the air between them, but it didn't need to be; the hope had always been there. So much so that they'd talked about it for hours and hours in the past, dreaming of the day that the war would end.

But what is normal for me now? she thought as she hung her lightsabres on the hooks placed just for them on the hips of her armoured skirt that Bo had had made for her. (Which she absolutely adored. Beskar armour was so light and beautiful and made a laughingstock of the plastoid that she had never been able to stand the dead feel of, which was why she'd never worn true armour before, unlike Anakin and Obi-Wan. The closest she'd come was the heavy leather of her vambraces and tall boots and the light armorweave material of her dress that she'd unfortunately outgrown and then reluctantly sold for much needed credits not long after leaving the Order.)

And what is normal for Anakin? Is he going to leave the Order too or continue his semi-secret relationship with Padmè indefinitely?

I guess we'll find out eventually. Hopefully sooner than later. And if I'm lucky, my new life will include Anakin and Rex in it somehow.

Luck. Now there's a concept the Jedi aren't supposed to believe in. She almost snorted at that ridiculous thought and looked up at Anakin. "Master Kenobi always said there's no such thing as luck."

He did snort, almost inaudibly, but it was there. "Good thing I taught you otherwise."

They shared a look of complete understanding before the stupid, insistent sirens reminded them yet again that time was not on their side. As usual.

With a sigh and one last mental hug down their bond, he turned to leave.

The gravity of the situations they were both walking into suddenly hit her. What if I never see him again? What if one of us doesn't survive our respective battles?

Oh Force! Don't even think that way, Ahsoka!

But just in case... "Anakin!" she called before he could get all the way through the door. He turned back, looking at her questioningly. And maybe a little hopefully, even though they both knew there wasn't time for another real hug goodbye (the Venator could jump to hyperspace at any moment, trapping her on the ship). Her wayward feet almost ran her to him anyway before she forced them to stay still. "Good luck." Please don't die, Master. I love you.

His mouth quirked up as he caught her thoughts again and his signature lit up significantly. "Love you too, Snips," she heard clearly in her mind in a way they generally didn't use to communicate by unless one of them was in serious trouble. But they were just so attuned to each other right now, their signatures clinging in a very unJedi-like way that most of the Council would probably faint over, that she was sure they could have entire mental conversations for hours without tiring if they'd wanted to. As he turned away, he sent her one more thought. "You're not allowed to die either, just saying."

Ahsoka smiled to herself, basking in the love flooding their bond.

The door closed behind him, separating them for who knew how long, and her smile faded a bit at the symbolism that she really didn't want to contemplate. But then it quickly returned as her senses were freed from the bright Force storm that was Anakin Skywalker to focus on other things again. Like the approaching Force signature of a certain clone.

Rex! He's back!

How?

Oh. Obi-Wan.

Thank you, Grandmaster.

New Orders

A/N: Some of the details in this chapter don't line up with canon information, but that is done knowingly for story purposes, so just go with it please. :D

New Orders:

As Rex ran away from Ahsoka with his men trailing behind him and the warning sirens wailing away, he received a comm from Cody via his helmet. "Rex."

"Hey, vod. What's up? Are we jumping to Mandalore?"

Cody snorted audibly. "Not even close. We're going the other way, to Coruscant. Briefings are coming through now. The Chancellor's been kidnapped by Grievous and the Coruscant Defence Fleet have engaged the giant clanker's fleet over the planet."

"Shab."

"Yep."

"What about Mandalore?" And Ahsoka?

"No idea, vod. I'm sorry." Cody, like many of Rex's brothers, had long ago figured out how much he adored the feisty Togrutan Commander and knew exactly what he was actually asking. "I'll comm you again as soon as I do find out something, all right?"

"Thanks, vod."

Rex was devastated. Flat out devastated. So devastated that he actually stumbled to a halt, piling up his brothers behind him.

I only got to see her for a minute! One shabla minute!

His chest felt like a Seppie tank had fallen on him, it hurt that much to breathe. Frag. I've always believed that the galaxy hates me, but this just proves it.

"Are you okay?" Vaughn asked, the unofficial leader of Torrent Company ever since Rex had

become the unofficial Commander of the entire 501st Legion when Ahsoka left. (No one had wanted to make it official in case she came back, although Anakin did ask out of courtesy.)

"No. Not really." Rex said quietly as his brothers gathered around him. "We're going to Coruscant."

Every brother in the squad tensed.

"Not Mandalore?" Sterling asked in a strangled voice.

"Not Mandalore," Rex confirmed, resignedly.

They all knew what that meant; no Ahsoka.

Rex and the dejected members of Torrent Company who'd been lucky enough to see Ahsoka

trudged the rest of the way to their gunship, ignoring the funny looks of passing clones painted in

212th orange. They crowded in, filling nearly every last possible scrap of floor space. But Rex didn't mind the crowded quarters; he found it comforting to be surrounded by his brothers.

Silence reigned for a minute as Stormy flew them out of General Kenobi's flagship of the same unofficial name (This was the nineteenth one in nearly three years, meaning the weary and sick of war Jedi had given up on naming his ships. Anakin now just called all of his the Reckless, no matter which number it was.), but then Ridge asked what everyone was thinking. "So that's it, then? We painted our helmets for nothing? Are we not going to serve with the little Commander at all?"

Kriff, why'd he have to spell it out so painfully?

Rex huffed slightly and gave his brother a light, admonishing smack on the back of his bucket. "It wasn't for nothing, vod. At least she saw them and knows we still think of her. I'm sure she'll treasure that. As far as serving with her, that might still happen if the mission to Coruscant goes quickly."

"Oh. That's all right, then."

"You bet your shebs it is."

Rex took comfort in his own words as pitiful silence took over the gunship again. The ride back to the Reckless was a far cry from the excited, chattering one on the way to Kenobi's Flagship that had heard the word 'Commander' about a hundred times amongst all of the speculations on how much more she'd grown since they'd last seen her, and if she was still as beautiful as they remembered, and if she'd missed them at all. Rex had let all of the chatter sweep over him as his own thoughts of eager anticipation had occupied his mind.

Now the anticipation was gone, but he clung to the hope that it would return again one day soon. He knew Anakin wouldn't want to leave Ahsoka on her own any longer than necessary when she needed their help.

Rex and his brothers almost startled when the comm unit in his belt chimed loudly. All heads swivelled in that direction and the thought of, New orders. Please let this be new orders, was practically universal amongst every soldier in the LAATi. Rex dug it out with barely capable fingers and pushed the button to answer.

General Kenobi's briskly walking image appeared. "Yes, General?" "Rex. I have new orders for you."

Yes! He could practically feel his brothers mentally shout the same as well, their bodies almost squirming with anticipation. He slashed his free hand subtly and they all stilled into perfect statues. "And what is that, General?"

"Anakin has decided to split the 501st so that Ahsoka doesn't go back to Mandalore alone. You are hereby promoted to Commander of the 332nd Legion."

Rex blinked behind his visor. "The 332nd? Isn't that General Krell's Legion that he made extinct on Umbara before he took over the 501st?"

Kenobi visibly winced at the reminder of that complete clusterfrag of a battle. "Yes. I thought it

fitting that you got to take over his Command. Please take whatever men from the 501st that you think most appropriate for a mission against highly trained Mandalorian warriors on their own turf."

"So, basically the best of my men," Rex asked, just to be absolutely sure.

"Yes. I've already informed Admiral Yularen to delay jumping Anakin's Venators until you have a chance to sort out who you want. Our battle over Coruscant is probably all going to be fought in space anyway, so I, and I'm sure Anakin, would prefer that you take the best to make sure Ahsoka comes out of this alive."

Rex couldn't agree more. "Yes, sir! Thank you, Sir!"

Kenobi's lips curled up into his moustache for an amused moment. "I had a feeling you'd appreciate the sentiment. Take care of our Padawan, Rex. Please."

"I will, Sir. With my life." His avidly listening brothers started nodding nearly frantically, so he added, "We all will."

"I expected nothing less," Kenobi smiled that gentle smile again. "Now, you might want to inform your pilot to turn around so you can come pick up your new civilian 'Advisor' before she ends up in the wrong system."

My what? Oh, Ahsoka! Right. Technically not a Jedi anymore. Got it. "Yes, Sir," he said enthusiastically before yelling, "Stormy! Turn us around! We're going back for the Commander!"

Kenobi laughed and his holo cut out.

The gunship erupted in cheers and flying orange helmets as it swung around and flew back the way it had come from.

When Stormy landed them back in the hangar of Kenobi's Flagship the 19th beside Lady Kryze's Kom'rk a couple of minutes later, Rex practically burst out the side door as soon as it opened, only pausing to tell his eager brothers to stay put or else. He ran back to the far corner of the hangar where they'd been assembled before and only slowed to a walk when he saw Ahsoka standing alone nearly exactly where he'd seen her last. Funny how that felt like ten times as long as it actually was.

His heart was still making a solid effort at pounding out of his chest with joy when he saw her turn around and smile brightly at him as she moved to meet him halfway.

He pulled off his helmet and grinned back like a little boy. His heart and soul settled back where they belonged and peace filled him.

My Soka.

Mating Instinct

A/N: So... someone questioned my choice of giving Rex a legion instead of the canon version where the 332nd is merely called a Company within the 501st. Aside from the fun little side story of Rex taking Krell's legion number that I made up, here was the rest of my reasoning:

According to Wookieepedia, a legion, as of the Empire's time, consisted of 12,800 stormtroopers. I imagine that it would be the same or similar during the Republic. Now, at least in my head, the 501st at this time would be at least a few thousand shy of that number after fighting in the Outer Rim for 5 months straight. So Rex would be given about 4 - 5000 men which I don't see as an unreasonable number to take back Mandalore with. This is the head canon for my story and I'm sticking with it. :D

Mating Instinct:

Ahsoka spun around and very nearly ran to Rex, so badly wanting to throw her arms around him in relief that she wasn't being separated from absolutely everyone that she loved again. But she refrained because there were still other clones in the hangar and she'd already pushed the boundaries of what she could get away with as a respected Commander by hugging Anakin in public.

So she settled for striding calmly but efficiently to meet Rex, schooling her expression to only a small smile of greeting.

At least, that's how it went for a handful of steps until she paused mid-stride as she had a sudden lightbulb moment.

Wait a minute. I'm NOT a Commander anymore! I'm not even a Jedi anymore! I can do whatever the kriff I want!

A tiny squeal of happiness escaped and she picked up a bolt only a few steps from the blond clone. His welcoming grin faded and his dark gold eyes widened in alarm in the half a second of warning she gave him before she was hanging off of his neck, her toes barely touching the ground. "Force, Rexi, I missed you," she whispered, tucking her forehead into his neck just below his jaw.

She felt his head bow over hers, his smooth cheek resting on her montral and his left arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her even tighter against his armour clad body. "I missed you too, Commander," he whispered back, the words breathed on her sensitive skin.

A pleasant shiver chased over her from head to toe and she inhaled in surprise. Stars, he smells amazing. Has he always smelled like this? Or did they issue a new brand of soap to the GAR or what?

And he really needs to stop calling me Commander.

"Ahsoka," she said firmly, looking up. "I could have swore I had you trained to call me Ahsoka when we were alone or at least close enough to it so no one else could hear."

He swallowed visibly and blinked, his arm tightening around her back with sudden tension. What's all that about? she wondered. "I... Yes. Of course. Ahsoka," Rex finally choked out.

Maybe he's not as happy to see me as I thought?

But that thought was quickly dispelled when his grin from a few moments ago slowly returned as she searched his eyes for answers. She purred in approval and stretched up a little further to brush a kiss over his cheek. "Good boy," she murmured, before pulling back and standing on her feet properly again while still remaining in his personal space, reluctant to fully part from him.

His arm slid up her back and under her lek and his head tilted downwards, the tip of his nose nuzzling against the upper part of her left lek. Surprised at the openly affectionate behaviour he'd never shown her before, she reared back a bit and saw that his pupils had dilated and his nostrils were flared as he absorbed her scent. In her montrals, she heard the faint echo of his heartbeat increase rapidly. The look in his eyes was so intense, and so unlike any other look he'd ever given her before that it took her a moment to sort out what it meant and what his suddenly blatant emotions were all but screaming into the Force.

Now it was her turn to blink once in shock before their eyes locked on each other. Oh my Force. Rex desires me! And not just that. I'm sure that is way more than brotherly love he's radiating right now!

Something inside of her awakened at the thought; an undeniable instinct to claim this perfect alpha male as her own. And it scared her because she'd never felt a real mating urge before. Not even her short-lived crush on Lux had made her feel like she wanted to shove him up against the nearest wall and start stripping all of their clothes off. Make out a bit, sure. But not lick and nip and kiss him from top to bottom and most especially in-between.

She stepped back quickly, grateful that Rex seemed to return to his usual self almost instantly as he sucked in a breath and then looked at the floor as shame took over his emotions for a moment before he turned himself off and she felt almost nothing from him again but his usual faint trace of affection.

Whoa. Someone has much better natural shields than I would have guessed. He could teach lessons to the Jedi.

When Rex looked up at her again, his eyes were normal and filled with remorse. "I'm sorry, Commander. I overstepped. It won't happen again."

Once upon a time, when she was a dutiful Jedi, Ahsoka might have agreed with that sentence. But with the suddenly activated mating urge screaming, Oh, hell no! More lekku nuzzling! Now! and the fact that she was still in 'do whatever the kriff I want because I'm not a Jedi anymore' mode, Ahsoka quickly shook her head in denial of his words and her own cowardice. "It's Ahsoka, and we'll talk about this later when we don't have an audience."

His perfectly arched brown eyebrows rose drastically up his forehead. "We... We will? And we what?" Apparently his brain was still a little befuddled from his moment of temptation because he was usually much more aware of his surroundings than this. Ahsoka felt more than a little pleased with this revelation as she started to get fully on board the 'let's see where this mating urge goes' train.

She smiled at him brilliantly and stepped forward again, touching his chest armour lightly with one hand right over his heart, which was still pounding like a far off drum in her montrals, betraying his outward aura of calm. He sucked in air again and forgot to let it out as she said softly, "Yes, we will, my Rexi." She looked up at him with all of the dawning emotions she was feeling in her eyes, clear for him to see, knowing that the highly intelligent male would get the point from that alone. Then she nodded over his shoulder with her chin. "When those nerfherders over there aren't around

to cackle like hyenas."

Rex spun around and glared at a smirking Bo-Katan and the not-so-small herd of clones that had gathered to watch the show, including the squad wearing the new orange helmets painted like her forehead markings.

"I thought I told you to stay in the LAATi!" Rex all but yelled.

"Sorry, Sir!" they said in sync as they snapped to attention, and then all but one orange helmeted clone dashed back from wherever they'd come from, their laughter making a mockery of their actions.

The one that had stayed was Vaughn, she was almost sure. (It had been a long time and there were an awful lot of brothers with nearly identical signatures.) "I'm sorry, Commander, Sir. But Lady Kryze came looking for answers and we just sort of..."

Rex cut off the pathetic apology delivered in a voice that rumbled with suppressed laughter. "Enough. We're coming." He put action to words and Ahsoka stayed right beside him. Focusing on Bo, Rex said, "Walk with us, and I'll explain on the way."

Bo nodded regally, her chin-length red hair swinging with the movement. "Thank you, that would be much appreciated."

The Mandalorian fell in beside Ahsoka. When she glanced up at the taller and older female, the green eyed woman subtly tilted her chin at Rex and winked.

Ahsoka would have been visibly blushing if her orange skin was inclined towards showing it. But despite her embarrassment, she sidled a little closer into Rex's side and mouthed, 'Mine' at Bo as Rex started explaining the current situation with Coruscant and the Chancellor.

Bo's lips curled up even higher and a soft laugh escaped, causing Rex to look at the Mando sharply and then down at Ahsoka suspiciously.

She just smiled up at him sweetly and sidled another fraction closer into his space.

His words paused for two strides and he gulped.

Oh, you are sooooooooo mine now. Consider yourself claimed, Commander Rex.

Team Skywalker

Team Skywalker:

Anakin found Obi-Wan in the comm center, talking over orders with Cody and a holo of Admiral Yularen. From what he caught of the end of their conversation, everything had already been arranged and there was nothing left for Anakin to decide.

He was fine with that, considering that was generally the normal state of affairs anyway when there was actually time to pre-plan events. (People had been ignoring or dissing his opinion for years so he rarely bothered to give one anymore.) When it came to seat-of-the-pants thinking, though, Anakin liked to believe he had the most inspired plans and generally just did them rather than waiting for begrudging approval.

As the discussion about Rex's new legion came to an end, a comm came through from the hangar control center.

"The Mandos and Commander Rex have finally departed and the hangar doors are closed. We're ready down here for the jump."

"Understood," Cody replied in a nearly identical voice to the one they'd just heard.

Obi-Wan gave the order to the bridge crew of his three Venators to jump to lightspeed only a moment before the other clone belatedly added, "And team Skywalker just won the bet."

Anakin smirked over at Obi-Wan as his former Master scowled and the ship shifted under their feet from the jump before settling. "I told you she would figure it out as soon as she saw those helmets."

Obi-Wan's scowl deepened.

Cody laughed.

Yularen's hologram looked confused as the transmission flickered and switched to long-range. "What bet?"

Cody was nice enough to explain. "General Skywalker bet General Kenobi that Commander Tano would finally figure out that Cap... uh, Commander Rex loves her within half an hour of her seeing him again. General Kenobi said it would take at least a day. Us clones have been joining one team or the other in the bet with the winners getting the losers' dessert ration at the next victory meal.

Except for you, I think Rex is the only one in our entire fleet who hasn't heard about the bet, and we left him in the dark on purpose so he couldn't influence the outcome."

Yularen didn't look impressed, as usual. "Yes, well, I don't tend to gossip with the soldiers." His tone was chiding.

"Of course not, Sir." Cody sounded properly chastised, but Anakin could feel that he wasn't even remotely repentant. Obi-Wan and I have been a bad influence on our men, no question. Go us.

"Which team did you go with, Cody?" Obi-Wan asked, an extra emphasis on the 'did', his arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow at his second-in-command.

Cody winced and shrugged slightly. "I was with Skywalker on this one. Sorry, Sir."

Anakin shot a grin to the clone as Obi-Wan huffed. "I want to see proof before I admit defeat."

"Of course, Sir." Cody commed Hangar Control back. "Hey, the General wants proof. You got any?"

"Yes, Sir. It's on the security recording for Bay 1 starting at 11:23. We all agree that it's enough to win the bet."

"Thank you." With a few quick button pushes, Cody pulled up the holo recording from Bay 1 and rewound it back to fifteen minutes ago. The men watched in silence as Ahsoka ran to Rex and practically leapt on him, her arms wrapping around his neck. Anakin's eyebrows rose, even though he'd been expecting something like this. She's never hugged me like that, that's for sure. Which is a good thing, of course. Cause that would be hella awkward.

His eyebrows rose even higher when she kissed Rex on the cheek and the clone responded by nuzzling her lek. Whoa. That got steamy fast! Rexter's got good instincts, got to give him that.

Pretty sure I don't want to see them getting any more familiar than that, though. I'd rather not wear a permanent grimace. It's bad enough that I know exactly what they can get up to if they want.

Stop! Stop picturing them naked and writhing!

Oh stars. I'm never getting that image out of my head now. Sometimes I wish the Force wouldn't send me pictures all the time.

Padmè! Think of naked Padmè!

He nearly sighed out loud in relief as an image of his wife took over from the unwanted one of his little sister getting it on with his best friend.

The recording didn't come with any sound, but he could see them talking, their eyes locked together and her hand on his chest. Their body language alone was definitely enough to win the bet. Anyone with working eyes could see that the Togruta girl had decided that Rex was hers now and that she was claiming him.

And no one in their right mind would try and get between a Togruta and their chosen mate; especially a Jedi trained one with lightsabres and a much better than average connection to the Force.

Unless they were suicidal, that is. Or somehow had missed the galaxy wide knowledge that Togruta females can and will go feral if their mates or offspring are threatened.

Cody turned off the holo as they started to walk away side by side, Ahsoka definitely in Rex's personal space bubble.

Silence reigned for a few uncomfortable seconds. And then Obi-Wan sighed. "You win, Anakin. Clearly."

Anakin grinned. "Thank you, Master. I look forward to the extra dessert after we defeat Grievous shortly."

"Don't get too cocky, my former Padawan."

"Of course not, Master." Anakin was still grinning. He had a very good feeling about the upcoming

battle. And seeing Rex finally get what he'd been pining for for three long years just warmed his heart to no end. (Even though he'd specifically told Rex he'd skewer him if this had occurred any sooner than Ahsoka's sixteenth birthday, which was the earliest a Jedi could possibly be Knighted and the universal age of consent for all humanoid sentients.)

Yularen's holo was frowning up a storm, which Anakin and Obi-Wan finally noticed.

"Something on your mind, Admiral?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes. There is. I'm not sure how you can condone this, General Kenobi. As a Jedi, she is not supposed to act in such an inappropriate fashion. And as far as Commander Rex is concerned, he should be demoted or even sent for reconditioning for acting in such a way towards a Jedi."

Apparently, Yularen is suicidal. Anakin opened his mouth to set the older man straight, but, astonishingly, Obi-Wan beat him to it.

"Admiral, you are conveniently forgetting everything we just did BECAUSE Ahsoka is no longer a Jedi. Ahsoka is free to attach herself to whomever she wants now and we can't stop her. Not to mention that we'd have to be bloody stupid to try. And as far as Commander Rex is concerned, the clones ARE allowed to fraternize with civilians during their off duty hours, as all of the shenanigans at 79's can attest to. And since Ahsoka is now a civilian, there's nothing you can do to him about returning her affections unless their relationship interferes with his duties, and I can guarantee that neither of those two would ever let it come to that."

Yularen was still scowling. "Technically, what I just witnessed qualifies as just that. He was must certainly on duty while they were embracing."

Anakin narrowed his eyes at the hologram threateningly. "Are you seriously going to try and discipline my best soldier for a minor infraction that lasted only a couple of minutes and hurt nothing except for slightly delaying our jump to hyperspace?"

The Admiral glared right back. "I should." Anakin's hands curled into fists, anger at the other man's obstinate idiocy taking over. Fortunately for the Admiral, he noticed and backed down.

"But... Since we just went to all the trouble of filing new orders for him and the 332nd I won't, as long as I don't see any more evidence that he is being remiss in his duties."

"Then we'll make sure you never see it," Anakin all but growled. He shot a look at Cody and the clone nodded back subtly, understanding immediately that Anakin wanted him to pass the word to all of his brothers that any security footage of Rex and Ahsoka doing anything even remotely inappropriate would either be erased or be conveniently unviewable thanks to technical difficulties.

"Very well," Yularen said, not stupid by any means as he saw that he wasn't going to win this one. "I'll leave this matter in your hands, Skywalker. They are your people, after all."

"Yes, they are," Anakin said firmly, finally relaxing. And they always will be.

Yularen moved as if to leave, but then he turned back. "Just one last question. I know Togrutans mate for life once they pick one. What are you going to do if they want to get married? Clones aren't allowed to do that."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "We'll deal with that if and when it happens, Admiral."

"How?"

"We don't know yet," Anakin lied.

Yularen's holo image raised an eyebrow in disbelief but only nodded and then disappeared from beside the holotable.

Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged glances, since they'd already talked about this very scenario. The short answer was that they would have to make Rex 'die' unless the Senate could be persuaded to grant the Clones more rights as sentient beings.

Obi-Wan sighed, looking very tired all of a sudden. "Cody, the bridge is yours for the next half hour."

"Yes, Sir."

"Anakin and I are going to the mess hall if you need us."

We are? "We are?"

Obi-Wan smiled faintly as he moved towards the door. "Yes, we are. We need to eat now while we still have the chance, and you and I need to have a long overdue talk."

Uh oh.

Turbolift Confessions (part 1)

Turbolift Confessions (part 1):

Obi-Wan was honestly surprised when it took Anakin all the way to the turbolift to make his standard complaint about lectures, considering the exasperation the young Knight radiated for the whole thirty second walk down the hallway that dragged in tense silence.

As he pushed the button to open the lift door, his former Padawan finally said, "Obi-Wan, if this is about my attachments again, could we just skip it? I'm sure I can save you the time and trouble by saying; yes, I still suck at letting go, and yes, I shouldn't let my emotions get the better of me like I just did with Yularen. I swear I'm trying, you must believe me, but I just FEEL so much!"

The doors closed them into the lift and down they went.

Anakin continued his sudden outburst, and Obi-Wan let him, knowing that the younger man needed to vent sometimes. But he let out way more than the Jedi Master was expecting.

Anakin had his gaze firmly attached to the descending numbers above the lift door as he all but cried out, "I'm sorry I can't be a perfect Jedi like you all want me to be! But I'm not like you! I can't just turn my emotions off like that! I WANT to feel the joy and love that my friendship with Ahsoka brings me. You have no idea how much I missed her this last year! Having a bond with her brings me peace! I don't understand how that can possibly be a bad thing! You know how chaotic the Force is within me sometimes! How I feel the emotions and events around me so keenly sometimes that it almost hurts! When Ahsoka's around, everything else is quiet!"

The lift dinged their arrival, but neither moved to leave.

Anakin finally turned his tormented gaze to Obi-Wan and the older Jedi felt like a blaster bolt had just shot through his chest at how much emotion Anakin was all but shoving at them through their sketchy bond as he explained things in a way that finally made sense to Obi-Wan. "I..."

Anakin didn't give him time to even start a sentence, but plowed on. "And it's the same with Padmè! That's why I have to comm her every day! I need that ten minutes of tranquility that I can't find anywhere else in this karking war! Our men are fairly good at hiding their emotions, but I can still feel them! I feel whenever one mourns for a favourite brother. I feel whenever they worry about their existence after the war. I feel whenever they pour their hate at the droids into the Force on the battlefield. And there's thousands upon thousands of them, Obi-Wan! The clones know no peace in themselves! They have nightmares all the time! Nightmares that seep into my dreams too! Nightmares about being Good Soldiers that torment them with the brutal consequences if they're anything but that!"

Anakin's voice broke at that and he turned his face away, shaking his head as he paled considerably. He stepped back until he hit the wall and then slid down to the floor, arms dangling over his drawn up knees and head buried between them.

Silence reigned, Obi-Wan at a loss as to what to say, and Anakin shuddering as his fingers suddenly clenched in his hair.

"And that's how I feel too," the huddled boy/man eventually said, his muffled voice just loud enough for Obi-Wan to hear. "I feel like a soldier with the entire galaxy resting on my shoulders. I'm supposed to be this amazing, all perfect, Chosen One, which I really am trying to be, but do

you know how stressful that is? To know that every single person is counting on you like that? How am I supposed to bring peace to the galaxy and balance to the Force when all I can feel is the Dark writhing around in glee? Stronger and stronger with each passing year. I am constantly assaulted by visions of my failure. Constantly." He paused, and then whispered. "Even now."

Force, Obi-Wan thought, his chest so tight with his own sense of failure and remorse that he could barely breathe. Our bond is that broken that I couldn't even tell that he was receiving a vision from the Force? How did everything go so kriffing wrong? He slid down the wall too and sat beside his Padawan, copying his position, but keeping his head turned towards Anakin. "Tell me. Tell me what you see."

Anakin turned his head, his sapphire eyes swimming with moisture. "Usually, I see Jedi and citizens alike falling under the red lightsabre of a very tall man all in black, the galaxy as a whole in fear of him. I've always assumed that he's the Sith Lord we're looking for. But just now, I saw the Senate Building in shambles. I saw the Jedi Temple burning. I heard the younglings crying in fear. I saw a Venator crashing into a white moon and the cries of hundreds of frightened clones suddenly silenced. I saw Master Plo shot down from the sky. I saw Padmè being choked to death. I heard Ahsoka say, 'Rex! It's Anakin. I feel like something terrible has happened!' And I felt the Force weep with sorrow. So much sorrow."

Anakin blinked and some of the hovering tears escaped, slithering down his pale-as-death cheeks. "The Force keeps telling me that I am a failure. That is what I live with. Every. Single. Day."

Obi-Wan was nearly choking on his own tears by this point. He grabbed the back of Anakin's head and leaned over, pressing their foreheads together. The younger man stiffened for a moment before he sagged into the desperate embrace. "No, Anakin. No! You listen to me! Visions aren't absolute. They can be given as warnings too. The Force knows that we can change what it shows you to something better. It's giving you the chance because it trusts in you to do so. Yes, you're the Chosen One, but you are not alone! I'm with you. I'm always with you. You're the one I live for, don't you see? I've given up everything to be at your side. Everything."

Turbolift Confessions (part 2)

Turbolift Confessions (part 2):

Anakin pulled back in shock and alarm as he felt Obi-Wan's emotional shield finally crack on that last word, his own complaints with his life suddenly forgotten as worry for his Master took over. He searched the very rare storm cloud grey colour of the older man's changeable eyes that meant Obi-Wan was feeling sorrow to the point of despair. (The first time he'd seen the usually steel blue eyes that colour was when Obi-Wan had carried Master Qui-Gon's body into the Theed palace hangar.) "What do you mean by everything?"

A corner of Obi-Wan's mouth twitched up into his moustache in a rueful half smile that did nothing to hide how much he was hurting on the inside as he leaned back against the wall of the lift. Anakin was still astonished that Obi-Wan was letting him feel his emotions like this, his Master was usually so determined to pretend that he didn't have any. "When I said that we needed to talk, I meant that I needed to talk to you about myself, not about your attachments. I've accepted those as inevitable long ago."

"Oh." Anakin copied him, leaning back too. He picked at the fraying end of a stitch on his tabard where it fell between his knees. "Well, now I feel stupid, jumping to conclusions again. But all right. Talk. I'm looking forward to this." He shot Obi-Wan a tiny smirk, hoping to lighten the mood, before focusing on his tabard again.

Obi-Wan chuckled lamely once. "I'm sure you are."

As Obi-Wan said 'are', the lift door opened and they looked up in surprise to see the faces of two startled clones. I bet we look stupid down here, Anakin thought. And I can guarantee the whole ship will know we're sitting in a lift for no good reason within two minutes.

"Oh! Sorry, Generals," the clone Sergeant on the left said, the corner of his mouth twitching as surprise turned to amusement. "Didn't know this lift was taken. We'll just... guard it for you, shall we?"

Obi-Wan nodded graciously. "Thank you, Rocker, that would be most appreciated." The clone nodded and the door closed again.

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. They both laughed, needing the release from the tense emotions that had swamped them for a few minutes.

Eventually, they wound down and Anakin nudged the other Jedi with his shoulder. "You know they're going to call this lift the Jedi Lounge or the Therapy Room or something stupid like that from now until the end of eternity, right?"

"Oh, I have no doubt my men will come up with something appropriate," Obi-Wan said dryly.

"And my men will hear it, and the next thing you know, at least one turbolift in every Venator in our fleet will be called that."

"Guaranteed." Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head in resigned acceptance.

Awkward silence reigned again for a minute as the temporary reprieve from seriousness faded until Anakin couldn't stand it anymore. "All right, Obi-Wan. Speak. You're not getting any younger you

know."

Obi-Wan wrinkled his nose at the teasing. "And whose fault is that?"

"Mine. I know. Old before your time. Yadda yadda."

"Precisely." Obi-Wan sucked in a huge breath and then let it out with a whoosh. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts together that he'd probably had all properly lined up before Anakin derailed them with his little breakdown that he couldn't quite regret if it meant that things between him and Obi-Wan went back to the way they used to be. "Right. My life," his Master finally said. "Or more specifically, my attachments." And then he paused again.

Poor Obi-Wan. That must have been hard to admit. Anakin raised a brow at him, both sympathetic and amused. He was happy to see that Obi-Wan's eyes were back to their usual colour at least. "Go on."

"I am. Just give me a chance, my impatient Padawan."

"Yes, Master."

They shared a grin at the familiar banter that never got old and then Obi-Wan started to talk, unburdening things he must have been holding inside for way way too long.

"You know that I and Qui-Gon protected Satine for a year when I was younger." "Yes." And boy, was that ever a surprise to see how they interacted with each other.

"What I didn't tell you was that I fell in love with her during that time. Hopelessly and completely. And she loved me back."

"I knew it!" he crowed, grinning at Obi-Wan widely. "She IS your girlfriend!"

"Was." Obi-Wan corrected gently.

Poodoo. Why do I always manage to step in it? Anakin's face fell at the reminder that Satine had been killed by Maul. "Right. Sorry, Master. I never did tell you that, how sorry I was for your loss." If I'd lost Padmè like that, I probably would have wrecked the entire city.

Obi-Wan smiled wanly. "It's okay. I knew you felt it, and that was enough."

He did? Yeah, I guess he did. I'm not as good at hiding my emotions from him as he is from me.

"Anyway," Obi-Wan continued. "Because of who we were, we both fought our feelings until nearly the very end of the year. I kissed her once, just once, before we parted."

That's it? Kriff, Obi-Wan has better control that I ever will.

"After that, we maintained a secret, long-distance quasi relationship by comm for a few years while I waffled about leaving the Order for her and she was too stubborn and prideful to ask me to. And then, about a month before the Naboo Crisis, she came to Coruscant to talk to the Senate."

Ooooo, finally! The juicy stuff! "And what happened?" he asked eagerly, turning now and sitting cross-legged facing his Master, suddenly feeling like a little boy at story time.

Obi-Wan smirked, the snarky nerfherder. "I refuse to go into details..."

Of course not.

"...But let's just say that we had a VERY successful negotiation about what we were going to do about our feelings and I told her that I would leave the Order after I'd been Knighted, because I'd worked too hard to not at least get that satisfaction."

Anakin snorted. "I totally understand that. So then what?"

"So then I met you, and my Master died, and I promised to train you."

"Oh. That sucks." To hell and back, really.

"At the time, I thought so." Obi-Wan sighed. "And you know what the worst part was, aside from breaking my word to Satine, a Mandalorian through and through who takes things like that very personally?"

"What was that?"

Now Obi-Wan was the one intensely focused on a fray on the hemline of his sleeve. "I found out months later when she officially broke up with me after not talking to me for forever that she'd been pregnant and then miscarried from grief and the stress of the possibility of being an unwed mother in a society that would force her from the throne for it."

Anakin swallowed hard. Kark. I can't even fathom how that must have hurt. If Padmè were to lose ours like that...

Don't even think it!

"Force, Obi-Wan! I'm sorry! You should have broken your word to Master Qui-Gon instead! I probably would have been happier as a slave and staying with my mother on Tatooine anyway."

"I know that now," Obi-Wan said almost inaudibly, both of them fighting tears again like a couple of saps. "But you were the Chosen One, your innate power with the Force so incredibly strong already at nine years old, I couldn't abandon you. Not you, or my duty to the Light to do what I thought was right, since no one else seemed even remotely interested in taking on a too young and untrained Padawan nor let you into the Order to train like a normal youngling because you were too old for that."

"I've always thought the rest of the Council was a bunch of fools." Obi-Wan huff/snorted. "I know. You've made your opinion clear on that many, many times." "Well, it's still true." And I doubt I'll ever think any differently.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Anyway. What I wanted to tell you is that I'm sorry I haven't been supporting you as much as you needed lately. You're like my brother and my most precious secret attachment and I've been making an absolute mess of it. That peace you mentioned that you feel with Ahsoka and Padmè? It hurts that you don't feel that with me anymore when I know you used to. And I know it's my fault. I know our bond is not what it used to be. Not since I faked my death and didn't tell you about it. And really not since Ahsoka left. I know you blamed me for that, and so did she, as I blatantly felt from her just now."

Anakin grimaced. "You're right. I did blame you for not interfering better on her behalf. Although, maybe I see now that you did everything that you could."

Obi-Wan looked at him gratefully, his eyes suddenly very blue and sincere. "I honestly did, Anakin. The rest of them just wouldn't listen to me. You might think I have a lot of power with the Council, but I really don't. I'm still the youngest one there and I'm still the Padawan of a man that most of them didn't like or didn't trust. I don't even know what prompted them to offer me a spot on the Council in the first place."

"Your brilliance as a Jedi, of course." Anakin said with a smile. "No one is a better Jedi than you are. You care, but you don't let your emotions rule you. You're one of the most skilled too. And don't even get me started on your smooth talking ways that win over practically everyone."

Obi-Wan laughed. "Force, I missed this. Just talking with you like this. It's been way too long."

Anakin nudged Obi-Wan's leg with the toe of his boot playfully. "It has. And I missed it too."

Obi-Wan gave him a proper smile, but it quickly faded. "I'm sorry I turned into such a cold bastard after Maul killed Satine. I didn't handle it well."

Force. Who would? "And I'm sorry I didn't support you like I should have because I was still angry with you about not telling me you weren't dead. I'm sorry I shut you out out of anger. That was childish of me, and I'll try not to do it again, no matter what stupid thing the Council asks you to do next."

Obi-Wan barked out a laugh. "Thanks," the Jedi Master said dryly before shifting into a cross-legged position facing him, his blue eyes twinkling. "Now, back to that peace and tranquility you're lacking, can I interest you in a meditation session to help with that?"

Anakin rolled his eyes but moved his hands to rest loosely on his knees. "Why not? We have about half an hour left before we go rescue the Chancellor again. Now's as good a time as any."

Obi-Wan sent him a burst of loving approval down their bond that made Anakin warm from the inside out. "Exactly, my meditation hating Padawan."

Anakin sent his Master back his own burst of happiness that had Obi-Wan beaming at him.

They never made it to the mess hall before the ship came out of hyperspace by Coruscant, but the two Jedi brothers left that turbolift more fulfilled and at peace together than they had been in a very long time.

And neither were surprised when Cody was on the other side of the door with a ration bar for each of them as he told them that all of the starfighters had been prepped and were ready for battle and the boys were waiting for their Generals to lead the way.

A/N: All right, I've deviated a bit from canon here, because I refuse to believe that Anakin was completely oblivious to Padmè's pregnancy. He was with her for approximately the first two months and should have noticed some of the early signs. He also holo commed her as much as possible during the five months they were separated, which is canon! I firmly believe he would have felt the new Force signatures inside her, and even if he was somehow oblivious to that, he'd have to be blind to not notice that his wife was expanding in the middle. :P

Conscience War

A/N: Much to my reluctance, I'm going to more or less stick with canon here and pretend that hyperspace is the next best thing to teleporting. In all of my other A.U. stories, I try and make space travel what I think is a more reasonable length of time, but because Obi-Wan specifically said that they could get from what I assume is the Mid or Outer Rims to Coruscant in less than an hour (taking into account prep time) I'm going to have stick with the magical method of nearly instant flight that we see in the movies and cartoons on a regular basis. (Blah) (And that's why Star Wars is Science Fantasy and not Science Fiction, in my humble opinion. :P)

Conscience War:

An hour after Ahsoka turned his world upside down, Rex was still reeling.

All he could think about was the feel of her lithe arms around his neck, the enticing curve of her narrow waist under his arm, the satin soft skin of her montral and lek, the beguiling scent of her, the addictive sound of her purr of approval, and most of all, the way her lusciously plump lips had felt against his cheek when she'd kissed him.

He still couldn't believe that he'd lost control and hugged her tighter and nuzzled her lek when she moved to leave him.

For so many years, he'd been reining in his feelings for her, no matter what the situation was; watching her face death over and over again with a laugh of pure joy, enduring the exquisite torture of letting her catch a nap on his thigh or shoulder, or even suffering through the blissful agony of the occasional hug she'd thrown his way when she was in one of her exuberant moods and hugging everyone after a successful battle.

But she'd never hugged him like THAT before. Never with her arms around his neck. Never with her head so close to his. Never with her entire front pressed to his entire front. He'd damn near had a heart attack and almost dropped the orange painted helmet under his arm. He'd also never been so grateful for his concealing armour (and that was saying something.)

Add in the look of approval in her big eyes when he called her by name, the subtle tooka-like purr, the whisper soft kiss, and the huskily murmured 'Good boy' that made him want to please her in every decadent and sinful way possible, and you have a recipe for a completely gone over the moon and lost to his latent instincts man/boy.

He hadn't wanted to ever let her go. Had only wanted to bask in the feel and scent of her. Could have happily explored even just her face and montrals and lekku with his lips for an eternity if she'd let him.

Somehow, his control had slipped and he'd indulged in his fantasies for a few precious seconds. Seconds that he'd relive over and over until he died if they were the only ones he got with her, no question.

But then he'd remembered who he was, and who she was, and that he wasn't allowed to love her in anything but his imagination and he'd panicked for a moment, ashamed and appalled that he'd taken advantage of her generous show of affection. She'd been startled, for sure, but then

something had changed in her sky blue eyes – an awareness of him that went far beyond friendship - and suddenly he was captivated all over again.

And the way she'd told him that they were going to talk about what had happened had him both terrified and way past hopeful. He couldn't stand the wait for that talk about the same amount that he dreaded it.

What if she's going to tell me that we can only be friends?

Or… what if she wants to be more than friends now?

Both thoughts were stuck on repeat in his mind and both frightened him equally. He so desperately wanted to be her everything - mate, lover, protector, worshiper, husband, father of her children - but he didn't know how they could possibly make it work. Not in the long-term, at least.

Short-term... Okay, they could probably get away with a secret affair like Anakin did and Kenobi had, before his Duchess had died. (His brothers were excellent at discovering Jedi secrets, having nothing better to do in their downtime.) But he'd never be able to give her a happy future. He was a clone. He had almost no rights as a sentient being and he was going to grow old WAY before her, thanks to his accelerated aging gene.

Although… there were rumours back on Kamino that the gene could be reversed or turned off, if the Republic wanted their assets to live longer. It would probably be expensive, though. Especially if the Republic wanted to stop the rapid aging of all of their millions of clone troopers.

The brothers had long ago come to the conclusion that even if the rumours were true, the Republic wouldn't need them anymore after the war was over, so there was no reason for them to spend more money on the clones. They were all resigned to the fact that they would probably die of old age by the time they hit forty or fifty, IF they survived the war.

Ahsoka hadn't helped his state of my mind over the last hour, either, by staying by his side and smiling at him in that sweet yet knowing way that kept his heart pounding and his nerves in a state of awareness that was probably going to drive him mad sooner than later.

Somehow, with the enthusiastic input of Ahsoka and the begrudging assistance of Admiral Yularen (who kept shooting Rex disapproving looks for some reason), he'd managed to pretend to focus enough to cobble together a decent attack force to take to Mandalore.

Not wanting to deprive Anakin of all of his best men, Rex had only ordered Torrent Company, Carnivore Battalion, and Wildfire Company (the best of the jetpack using units) to pack up their kit and transfer from the Reckless to the Tribunal. Then he'd contacted Jesse over on the Dauntless and had him round up his small squad of Coruscant Guard troopers; clones that had shown an inclination towards being Arcies and had been shipped over to train with him about a month ago, since they kept annoying Commander Fox with their 'inventive' methods of completing their assignments. (So far, Jesse was very happy with them and Rex had a feeling that they would make fine additions to the 501st's elite teams.)

Also from the Dauntless, Rex had pulled a thousand troopers worth of the experienced infantry units, knowing he'd need to show up with an impressive show of force if they were going to earn any sort of respect from the Mandalorian citizens.

Then they'd done what everyone was calling 'The Great Ship Shuffle' as all of the small starfighters and their pilots were moved off of the Tribunal and were replaced with gunships carrying the new transfers, a few more walkers, and Lady Kryze's Kom'rk (which had to sit in the middle of the

hangar because it was too tall to fit in one of the side bays).

The rest of the troops on the Tribunal consisted almost entirely of the shinier brothers who hadn't earned their way into one of the named Companies yet, but they'd survived the last five months of war, so Rex figured they must have something going for them, and there was no time like the present to really test their skills.

All of that had been accomplished in twenty minutes flat, thanks to their training and their lack of personal possessions to move, allowing the three Venators to finally jump to hyperspace; two towards Coruscant, less than an hour away by the Perlemian Trade Route Hyperlane, which they had been parked beside, and the Tribunal towards Mandalore, six hours away via a couple of more obscure hyperlanes and a three hour flight through an obstacle-ridden section of space that made lightspeed impossible. (The Mandalorians considered it an excellent preliminary defence shield for their Capital planet.)

Rex's next official move as Commander was to promote Vaughn to Captain of Torrent Company and Jesse to Lieutenant as his second in command to help keep order in the chaos of the newly formed 332nd Legion.

The next thirty-eight minutes of Ahsoka induced torment were spent in the command center of the Tribunal, memorizing the domed city of Sundari with Lady Kryze, going over her battle ideas, and planning their initial attack; all while his little Togrutan Commander stayed close to his side and beamed at him like he was the smartest male in the galaxy, and Jesse, Vaughn, Surge (Captain of Wildfire), and Broker (Captain of Carnivore) laughed at him silently with their eyes, promising endless teasing later when they caught him alone.

Rex vowed to not be caught alone for the next month or more until they got over it.

Even if it means tying a certain Togrutan tease to my side indefinitely. Ha. As if that would be a hardship.

Okay. Something would be permanently hard to accommodate, but whatever.

Rex glanced over at Ahsoka, who'd FINALLY moved away from his side to talk to Lady Kryze quietly for a minute, now that their meeting was over and he'd sent his sniggering brothers away to prep the rest of the men and get some much needed rest before things went to hell. Shab, she looks good in that new battle outfit of hers. Is it bad that all I want to do is strip it off of her and explore her curvier, more womanly body in minute detail?

Probably.

Thank kark Anakin's not here to pick up on my thoughts in that freaky way of his or I'd be skewered below the belt in about two seconds flat. He may have more or less given his approval of my feelings for her a long time ago, but I doubt he'd appreciate my lurid imagination. And he did say that I had to wait until she was Knighted first before making any sort of move on her.

How am I supposed to wait for that if she's no longer a Jedi?

Short answer, Rex old boy, is that you don't. She's close to seventeen now, that has to be old enough, right? Technically, she's more legal than I am.

And technically, you'll be a shrivelled up old prune when she's thirty. You should stop this before it even starts.

I know! he growled at his conscience. I've already thought of that a hundred thousand times! But

how am I supposed to say no to her if she decides she wants me, which, to all appearances, she has?

That's the million credit question, isn't it?

Ahsoka said goodbye to Lady Kryze and suddenly they were alone in the command center together.

She turned to him. The look in her eyes turned him to stone. His lungs forgot how to work. His heart pounded in his ears. And a fine sweat broke out under his bodysuit.

She walked up to him like a nexu stalking its prey, deliberately and slowly. What blood was left in his already befuddled brain stampeded southwards.

"Are you ready to talk now, Rexi?" she purred, coming to a stop in his personal space and looking up at him with those mind-blowingly beautiful big blue eyes, a thousand promises hidden in their sparkling depths.

He gulped. "Ummmm. Sure. Yeah. I guess… we could do that?"

"Good," she said the same way she had back on Kenobi's Flagship, in a husky whisper, all but killing him. And then she turned and walked away. He'd swear upside and down her hips swayed more than normal. "But not here, where anyone can walk in. Let's go see what the dignitary's guest quarters look like, shall we, since I sort of qualify now?"

"Uhhhhhhh…" Oh kark, oh kark, oh kark! His feet followed her like he was attached to her by an invisible and unbreakable wire.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to sleep on a super soft bed that was big enough for two people," she said, shooting him a grin over her shoulder. "Haven't you?"

Oh. My. Frag.

"Uhhhhhhh…" Rex said again, unable to get anything else out past the thundering organ that had relocated to his throat, his feet freezing despite the invisible bond that drew him to her. Too fast! Too fast! Can't think!

Ahsoka laughed as the door slid open for her. "That's what I thought." Consequences! There are consequences! Bad consequences if you go with her!

She raised a white brow marking when he didn't move. "Don't worry, Rex, I don't bite." She walked through the door.

And then, "Much," floated back to him.

He almost literally fainted as he was assaulted by images of her adorable, sharp little canine teeth making love bites all over his naked form. And with those white weapons being framed by her plush burgundy lips... Shabla hell.

His conscience lost the war with his heart and body.

He followed.

Starfighter Bonding (part 1)

A/N: Occasional pieces of this arc and probably others will come from a non-canon script of RotS that I found online. I really liked some of the lines that didn't make it into the movie, so I'm adding them to my story. :D (I also added a bunch of my own. :P)

Starfighter Bonding (part 1):

Anakin strode into Bay 7 of the hangar where he had left his heavily customized yellow and silver Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor beside a maroon and grey one a few hours ago, stuffing the last of his ration bar into his mouth and shoving the wrapper into a pouch on his belt.

Beside him, Obi-Wan was doing the same as they made for their respective starfighters. Anakin could feel his friend and former Master stealing himself for the upcoming battle, shutting down his emotions and pulling the Force to him a little more than absolutely necessary; girding his mental loins, so to speak.

Even after all their years together, it still amused him to no end that the generally fearless Obi-Wan Kenobi could be so good at flying but despise it with his entire being. Obi-Wan said it was BECAUSE he was terrified of flying that inspired him to put his all into it so he didn't die due to something stupid like his own ineptitude.

Swallowing down the five billionth (maybe an exaggeration, but who knows?) dry and flavourless lump of protein and vitamins that had kept him alive and ticking for the better part of the last three years, Anakin vaulted into the open cockpit of his fighter, a sense of anticipation and belonging filling him. He'd always thought that if his life were his own, he would spend the majority of his time flying from now until the day he died, making him a very happy man. (Ideally, the rest of his hours would be spent making Padmè a very happy wife.) But it wasn't, so he'd relished the meager hours he did get in the seat of a lightning fast fighter with every crumb of his being.

As far as he was concerned, the only thing the war still had going for it was the fact that he'd gotten to fly more in the last three years than in the entirety of his life before that combined.

Beside him, his faithful blue and silver astromech droid swivelled his dome around, trilling and rocking slightly with anticipation in his dorsal socket. "Took you long enough," he beeped out in Binary.

Anakin laughed at Artoo, who loved to fly just as much as he did. "Sorry, buddy. We're going in a moment. Promise."

As he put on his sleek headset, Anakin looked over at Obi-Wan, who was settling into the seat of the almost GAR issue interceptor that Anakin had tinkered with on occasion to make it lighter and more agile, throwing out heavy instrumentation like the proximity sensors, which Obi-Wan really didn't need. Obi-Wan drew the line, though, at letting him make it make it more powerful like his own, saying he didn't need more speed, thank you very much. "You ready, Master?"

Obi-Wan grimaced as he put on his own headset. "As I'll ever be."

They started their engines and the sweet sound of perfectly tuned rumbles filled the small bay. Another thrill coursed through Anakin, making his blood sing. "Let's do this." He closed the transparisteel bubble over his head and he felt the subtle shift as the air automatically pressurized

around him.

"If we must," Obi-Wan bemoaned teasingly over the comm.

Anakin grinned as they took off through the blue shield and joined the hundreds of fighters piloted by clones already leaving the Venator's hangar through the long ceiling entrance. They were flying

mix of grey and maroon painted Eta-2s, Y-Wings, V-19s, and ARC-170s, and were being directed by Cody as he watched the battle from the command center of the bridge. "It's a good thing I know you don't entirely mean that."

"Who says I don't?"

Anakin took a moment to answer, because he'd just gotten a full view of the grand scale of the battle being fought above the city planet of Coruscant, and it was officially epic to the extreme. A few thousand large destroyer-class and frigates from both sides were surrounded by what looked like millions of tiny starfighters flitting around like hordes of winged insects and firing all over the place as the bigger ships jockeyed for position and shot at each other hither and yon. A good majority of the ships were on fire or floating in pieces, giving testament to how long the battle had already been going on. Holy kark on a rancor!

He'd never seen so many ships from both sides all fighting in one place before, and that was saying something, considering the vast number of battles he'd already fought. "Uhhhhh." What was the question again? Oh yeah. "The Force says so, Master. I can feel you. You may not like flying, but you do like winning."

"Lovely. Giving away my secrets again," Obi-Wan said dryly, keeping his fighter right beside Anakin's despite the chaos.

"Yep," he answered cheekily. "This battle is insane, by the way."

"Agreed. Do you have any idea where you're going?" the elder Jedi asked as they effortlessly maneuvered through debris and other fighters, occasionally taking out an enemy Vulture droid if one happened across their line of sight.

"For now, I'm aiming for the center of the battle, which is where I think Grievous' flagship will be, and thus the Chancellor."

"Joy. Always diving into the thick of things," Obi-Wan said. His voice couldn't have gotten any drier than if he'd been trapped on Tatooine for a week.

"You know me so well." Anakin was loving the genuine banter as they flew, perfectly in sync with each other in a way that they hadn't been in so long. Their fighters practically danced together as they wove through and around obstacle after obstacle, including fighters on their side who were flying valiantly after the gads of ruthless enemy fighter droids.

"That I do, my intrepid Padawan. Too well, sometimes, I think, if you're about to do what I think you are."

"What?" Anakin laughed. "You don't like knowing that I'm about to blast the smithereens out of the engines of this Seppie frigate and that you'll have to fly through the debris and flames?" he said only seconds before putting action to his words.

"That's it precisely," Obi-Wan said, sounding tight as if he were flinching. (Which he probably was.) "I wish you wouldn't do reckless things like that, Anakin."

"You're fine, Master," Anakin reassured as they flew on. "You're fighter isn't going to explode at that tiny exposure to flames."

"Logically, I know that. But tell that to my sense of impending doom."

Anakin laughed. "Relax. I won't let anything happen to you. This is my territory up here. Nothing can outfly me."

Obi-Wan sighed audibly over the comm. "You're arrogance is going to get me killed one of these days, I swear."

"Sorry, Master." Anakin shot another Vulture droid that happened to cross his path. (The twenty-third one already.) "But that really would defeat the purpose of my determination to keep you alive, if you think about it."

"Very funny."

"I thought so."

Anakin tensed as the Force sent him a warning, a flash of an image appearing in his mind. "Hang on, Obi-Wan. We've got a pack of V droids on our tail."

"Kriff."

"Just fly along the length of that Venator over there to the left and hope it takes some of them out with its canons. I'll duck off and circle behind them."

"Easy for you to say," Obi-Wan grumbled as he banked to left and took the lead. "Why do I always have to be the bait?"

"Because you're so handsome and snarky, no one can resist you?" Anakin said as he suddenly dodged under the belly of the Venator and circled back. A few of the droids tried to copy him and managed to plaster themselves to the hull of the destroyer instead. Two down, six to go.

"If only that were true. You're proof enough that my charm doesn't work on everyone."

"Awwwww, Obi-Wan, I didn't know you felt that way," Anakin teased back as he picked a target and shot the flying droid out of his way. Three down. "If only I'd known, I would have saved myself for you instead of flirting with that Zygerrian Queen."

"Ha. Just shoot those blasted things already! They're all over me!"

"I'm working on it, Master. Keep your robe on." Five down.

"I can guarantee I'm not taking it off anytime soon," Obi-Wan said almost frantically as he zig-zagged through another mookafight that was flying crosswise to them. Enemy number six helpfully flew into one if its counterparts as it tried to follow the talented Jedi through the traffic.

Anakin followed, smirking, dodging death easily.

"Just two more, Master."

"That's still two too many when they keep taking potshots at my rear end, Anakin!"

"Yes, Master. Why don't you…"

"I see it!" Obi-Wan led their dwindling party down to the deck of a Seppie battleship and literally played dodgeball with their laser canons.

"Artoo, the last two are yours. I have to concentrate on flying," Anakin said as he dodged what felt like about a hundred laser blasts per second.

"Okay!" the droid sent in Aurebesh to the computer screen in front of him before taking over the targeting systems.

"Hurry up!" Obi-Wan said a little breathlessly. "I don't like this!"

"We're working on it!"

Seven down and… eight! "Great shooting, buddy!"

"Thanks, Master!" Artoo sent back.

"Thanks, Anakin."

"Just doing my job keeping you alive, Master," Anakin said as they flew back into a relatively clear section of space.

"If that's what you want to call it. Next time, you're the bait. Now… let's go find that Command ship before anything else happens to give me more grey hairs."

Anakin laughed. "Yes, Master."

Starfighter Bonding (part 2)

Starfighter Bonding (part 2):

Obi-Wan cursed under his breath as a lucky shot from who knew where struck across the left wing of his interceptor only millimetres from Arfour, the warning from the Force coming too late in his distracted state for him to dodge it properly.

His traumatized astromech sent him a string of accusatory swear words via the on-board computer that Obi-Wan felt were more or less deserved.

"Sorry, Arfour. Just hang in there," Obi-Wan said as he spun his sleek little fighter around a barrage of laser blasts between a Venator and a Seppie frigate, sending them upside down a few times.

"If that was a joke, it wasn't funny," the Aurebesh letters appeared almost instantly after he flattened out and chased after Anakin's yellow interceptor, refusing to get left behind.

I must be losing my touch, I thought that was perfect for the moment.

"My apologies, my friend. I will endeavour to keep my focus in a more satisfactory matter."

"Please do."

If Obi-Wan hadn't been occupied with staying alive, he would have spared a moment to roll his eyes at the snark of his droid. She's been hanging out with Artoo way too often again lately. I swear that droid has more personality than all of the younglings in the Temple combined.

And whose fault is that?

My reckless ex Padawan's, of course.

Obi-Wan suppressed a flinch as an out of control V-19 spun past him, the pilot's fear momentarily screaming at him through the Force until he blocked it out.

Kriff. Does Anakin REALLY have to fly through the thickest parts of the battle to get to our destination?

AND aim for every possible target he can find?

The laugh of sheer joy that came over the comm as Anakin performed an aerial manoeuvre that involved diving between the narrow gap of two rocketing pieces of debris from a nearby explosion and then shooting to smithereens an unsuspecting Vulture droid said unequivocally, 'YES!' (Obi-Wan had had to consciously unclench his hands from the sensitive controls as he watched Anakin play with death yet again.)

"Master," Anakin said only moments later. "General Grievous' ship is directly ahead. The one crawling with Vulture droids."

"Oh, I see it. This is going to be easy," Obi-Wan said, heavy on the sarcasm. NOT.

"Come on, Master. We've got this," Anakin said, anticipation radiating down their bond and in his voice.

No way in hell! Obi-Wan thought, eyes widening as something like a thousand of the enemy fighters flew off of the Invisible Hand and straight towards them. Anakin might be that good, but I. AM. NOT!

Desperate, Obi-Wan cast his senses out for a familiar Force signature, hoping against hope that Cody had his back, like always, and had a squadron following him and Anakin.

It only took a moment for the brave signature of the best clone pilot in the GAR – one of the very few who'd survived almost three full years of combat - to register, because he wasn't that far behind. Thank you, Cody!

"Not this time, Anakin," Obi-Wan was ecstatic to say. "We need help." "No we..."

"Yes, we do! There's too much at stake to take any more reckless chances!"

"Yes, Master," Anakin said, resigned, but somehow still managing to sound like a little boy who'd just lost his favourite toy. He slowed down and changed course to give help time to arrive.

Obi-Wan sent the younger man a burst of gratitude and approval as he followed him and switched to the generic GAR comm frequency that everyone could hear. "Odd Ball, do you copy?"

"Copy, Red Leader," Commander Odd Ball said only a second later, calling him by the code name Obi-Wan had been assigned when in space battles. Anakin was Yellow Leader, officially, but the pilot clones more often than not thought of him as Holy-Shab-Did-You-See-What-That-Crazy-Jedi-Just-Did?! Leader. (Obi-Wan understood the sentiment completely.)

"Mark my position and form your squad up behind me."

"We're on your tail, General Kenobi," Odd Ball said confidently. "Set S-Foils in attack position and let's take out some tinnies!" he called to his squad, which was responded to by a roar of agreement from many echoes of the same voice.

Obi-Wan could feel the clone signatures gathering up behind him and Anakin in their ARC-170s. "All right, Anakin. Let's make our run."

"Finally," the young Knight said, accelerating again and moving out of hiding from behind a Venator.

As they cleared the top, Obi-Wan saw a massive wave of flying droids headed their way. Fragging hell. I wish I was anywhere but here right now.

He must have thought it loud enough for Anakin to pick up on, because silent laughter rippled back down their bond along with an eagerness for the upcoming fight that no one but Anakin and the droid hating clones could possibly feel at what they were about to fly into. "This is where the fun begins," Anakin said gleefully, confirming the feelings Obi-Wan was getting from him.

"You said it, General!" Odd Ball called back.

Not for me. Obi-Wan thought, already mentally flinching as they and the enemy droids closed in on each other like hurtling balls of flying death. More like, this is where the torture begins.

Anakin laughed at him again. "You'll do fine, Master. Just do what you always told me as a

youngling and trust in the Force."

Since they were suddenly and miraculously communicating via telepathy anyway (which they hadn't done since before he'd stupidly stopped Anakin from following up on his visions about his mother being in danger), Obi-Wan pictured his eyes rolling and thought, "Very funny, Anakin."

"Well, if it eased your anxiety, then I did my job."

Obi-Wan smiled at the suddenly serious and caring thought Anakin sent him, because their mental connection actually had helped the terror sitting like a lump in his stomach to dissipate a bit.

And just in time, too, because the two waves of starfighters were about to collide. "Let them pass between us!" Obi-Wan commanded even as Anakin started shooting. "Our goal is the Command ship! Leave the droids for Squad Seven!"

"Yes, Master," Anakin grumbled as they dodged in near tandem through the mass of Vulture and Tri-Fighter droids that had ever so helpfully joined their battle as well. "To the lair of the clanking and hacking beast we go." Obi-Wan chuckled as Anakin added, "Again," in a thoroughly disgusted voice. "How we haven't yet managed to kill that stomping pustule on the backside of the galaxy is beyond me."

That is a fantastic question. "Normally I'd say the will of the Force or some such nonsense, but I think I'm going to take a page from your book on this one, Anakin, and say that we've just had terrible luck."

"Finally! He admits it!" Anakin crowed from his position just barely in front and to the left of him. "Have you noticed, though, that I haven't ever actually fought Grievous?"

"It may have crossed my mind once or twice. Surely you'll get your opportunity now." "If you're lucky," he couldn't help but tease down their bond.

Anakin snorted over the comm. "Don't jinx it, Master."

"I wouldn't dream of doing so. The Force willing, that is."

A deep groan was his only response to what Obi-Wan thought was a perfectly witty comeback.

Aside from a bit of swaying from side to side, Anakin had set an almost perfectly straight course for Grievous' flagship, but he was still shooting anything that he could on the way there.

Admitting that the compromise was logical, Obi-Wan also shot whatever he could while trying not to flinch with each near head-on collision, just barely dodged laser bolt, or burst of exploding debris that he flew through. The clone pilots behind them getting picked off one by one didn't help his state-of-mind either.

Force, I hate flying.

Mating Agreement

Mating Agreement:

Ahsoka knew she driving poor Rex absolutely batty, but she couldn't help herself.

The absolute craving for his real feelings drove her to keep him revved up over and over again. When she gave him time to think, he'd regain control of himself and disappear behind his shields like he'd been doing for who knew how long – she could tell well enough that his love for her hadn't just popped out of the blue when she walked back into his life an hour ago.

So she leaned a little closer to him than absolutely necessary. Brushed her shoulder against his arm whenever possible. Smiled at him with her new awareness of him as a desirable male in her eyes.

In short, she was being a terrible tease.

But, oh, the rewards were so worth it. His shields would drop again and she'd wallow in his feelings for her - the love, the lust, the adoration, even the protectiveness that she didn't really need but made her realize just how much she loved him back for it – each of them made her feel again in a way that made it blatantly clear that she'd only been half alive since she left the army and the Order. Or more specifically, left her only family behind in the form of Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, and a multitude of his brothers.

Maybe it was a bit of an extreme reaction, but she'd been so starved for affection for the better part of the last year that she needed Rex to keep his shields down, just for a little while longer.

That's what she told herself to justify her actions, anyway.

And now she was leading a completely tormented Rex to a guest cabin on the Hopeful for what she had a feeling was going to be a years long overdue talk. But… she may have implied that more than talking would occur when she mentioned the bed in said cabin because she was still having way too much fun with 'do whatever the kriff I want' mode mixed with 'let's tease Rex to death' mode.

And biting.

Can't forget the biting, she laughed silently.

Force, I thought his mind was going to short-circuit when I said that.

It would be nice to try kissing him, though. I bet he'll be good at it, even if he's never done it before. He's a smart man, and so deliberate in every action he takes.

She glanced over at him as he caught up to her while she waited for the lift door to open and giggled under her breath.

He'd parked his white and blue, jaig eyed helmet on his head, hiding his expression from her and any passing brothers. (She'd encouraged him to wear his own modified bucket rather than an orange painted Phase II helmet that he'd never liked the feel of, not only because he was more comfortable in it, but because she wanted to see him as himself, not a copy of all of his brothers with the same helmet on.) But despite the mask, she could still feel his emotions in turmoil; lust and indecision taking precedence.

My poor Rexi. He's trying so hard to be a gentleman about this. I really should put him out of his misery.

Soon.

They stepped into the turbolift. She pushed a button for the correct level and then stepped a fraction closer to her intended mate. Rex sidled as far off to the side as he could get, his body practically rigid with tension. Ahsoka shook her head at him fondly.

All right. I'll do it now.

"Rex."

"Ahsoka."

They said each other's names at the same time and then laughed together, a fraction of the tension easing from him, thankfully.

He pulled his helmet off and tucked it under his arm, his eyes serious again and his emotions carefully hidden behind his shields.

Force, he's good at that.

"Ahsoka, I don't think this is…"

She stepped closer to him, shaking her head to interrupt, but was careful not to touch or crowd him, sensing that he was only five seconds away from exploding in one way or another, no matter what his outward appearance dictated. "Rex, it's okay. I'm sorry I've been teasing you so badly for the last hour, but when I felt your emotions and realized that I returned them, I went a little bit crazy with what is known as Mating Instinct. I'll control myself better from now on, I promise."

He blinked, processing, and then chuckled. "No. It's not that. I honestly don't mind your looks and the leaning on me and such. I really like it, in fact, ignoring how hilarious my brothers think this is."

She grinned, relieved. "They were being real nerfherders about it weren't they?"

He grinned back. "They were. I have half a mind to demote the lot of them to babysitting shinies."

Wouldn't Jesse just love that. "But we'll need them."

"Exactly."

They shared a look of complete understanding before she brought their conversation back to business. "So if my teasing didn't bother you, then what is it?"

He snorted. "Oh, it 'bothered' me, trust me, but I didn't mind."

She smirked, absurdly proud of herself when she really shouldn't be. "I'm glad."

He returned her smirk, but that quickly fell. "What I'm not sure…"

The lift stopped and the doors opened. He stopped talking, because there were brothers walking past, dressed in plain white armour, who shot them curious looks.

"Hold that thought," she said, and turned down the hallway in the opposite direction the two

shinies had gone, leading the way to the guest quarters at the end of the hallway that she'd claimed for herself but had yet to actually see. Her small bag of clothes and personal possessions had supposedly already been delivered to the cabin, via helpful clone.

It had.

And it was sitting on a bed decorated in blue covers only slightly smaller than the massive one in Padmè's room in her Coruscant apartment. (She'd seen it a few times when her friend had her tag along during bodyguard duty or political lessons and the senator needed to change from one elaborate outfit to another.)

"Oooooo, look at this thing, Rexi! It's big enough for half of Torrent Company, I swear!" She ran and jumped on it, landing on her knees. It bounced. Actually bounced! Unlike the thin mattresses or cots that the soldiers were allotted (including herself and Anakin). She turned and flopped down on her back, boots hanging over the edge, and moaned at the sheer decadence. "Oh, Force. This is soft. I don't even know if I'll be able to sleep on it."

When no comment was forthcoming from her companion, Ahsoka pushed up onto her elbows and raised a brow marking at him. "Rex?"

He was standing in the still open doorway, mouth slightly agape.

"Are you coming in?"

He swallowed hard. "About that…"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and popped off the bed. She marched over to him and grabbed his free hand, pulling him into the room so the door could close before someone saw them and the whole ship knew they were having a 'meeting' in the guest quarters.

She took his helmet out from under his arm and plopped it down on a desk by a large transparisteel window that showed a lovely view of the blue and white lightshow known as hyperspace.

"Ahsoka…"

"Hush," she gently admonished, grabbing him by the gloved hand again and leading him over to the bed. Then she turned and pushed him onto it. "Just sit on that for a minute, all right?"

Rex blinked as he landed shebs first on the pillow-soft mattress and a slow grin spread across his face as he bounced a couple of times like a little kid. "All right, I give. This is the best bed I've ever been on."

She crossed her arms, standing in front of him, which made her taller than him for once. But not by much, since the decadent sleeping platform was almost waist height on her. "I told you."

"Yeah, you did," he admitted. "But as I was saying, I don't think it's a good idea for us to just jump into the sack together like this, no matter how much my body says otherwise. There's things we need to talk about. Things that make our getting together a really stupid idea."

Ahsoka scowled, not liking the sound of that at all. "Like?"

He looked up at her, sorrow and apology in his golden brown eyes. "Like the fact that I'm not sure what kind of future I can offer you when I don't know if they'll let me see you again after this Mandalore thing. Like the fact that I'm a clone which means I can't legally marry you. And I'll grow old twice as fast as you and I'm already almost ten yours older than you are, biologically

speaking."

Even though she had to admit that he had good points, she honestly didn't care. Her mating instinct most definitely didn't care.

Ahsoka stepped forward, pressing her knees to his, and cupped his face with both hands. His eyes widened at the contact. "You listen to me. None of that matters right now. Yes, a future with you would be ideal, but we live in a time of depressing realism. You or I or even both of us could die tomorrow and I'm not willing to waste what few guaranteed hours I do have with you over semantics that make no difference in the here and now of the life we actually exist in."

His hands came up and grasped hers gently, their eyes locked together. "Soka," he whispered, almost pleading. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to leave you without a mate. I know your kind only mate once. You should pick someone a lot less likely to die."

She leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his and closed her eyes for a moment, savouring the way he held her hands so carefully against his face. Despite his words, he was as reluctant to part from her as she was from him. She opened them again and pulled back a smidge, studying his beautiful amber orbs, trying to read his thoughts without actually pushing into his mind. "It doesn't work that way, Rexi," she whispered. "Once the Instinct has kicked in, it can't be turned off. You're mine now, forevermore. And you can't tell me you don't want me back, because I can feel it. The mating instinct would never have been awakened in the first place if you didn't want me."

"Soka," her name a groan of misery and relief from deep in his chest. "If that's how it is then." "That's how it is."

"All right." Rex slid his hands down her arms and all the way up to her face, gloved fingers tracing over the winged markings on her cheeks. "So shabla beautiful," he murmured, sounding a bit awestruck.

She smiled a little. "If you say so."

"I do. Always thought so."

She smiled a little wider. "Good to know. I've always thought you were the best looking of your handsome brothers, too; your facial structure a bit more refined and your eyes more gold than the rest, matching that cute blond fuzz you work so hard to keep."

"Is that so?" he said, chuckling lightly, showing off his perfect teeth.

"It is." She leaned forward again and whispered her lips over his, erasing his grin in an instant.

Starfighter Bonding (part 3)

Starfighter Bonding (part 3):

Anakin frowned, his hands tightening on the controls, as he tapped into Squad Seven's frequency and all he heard were the nearly identical screams of man after man dying between frantic words of how overwhelmed they were. If he didn't have his Force senses determinedly focused forwards and on flying his stripped-to-the-bare-necessities ship (less weight equals more speed), he'd be feeling their deaths as well, not to mention all of the thousands upon thousands of others as whole Venators succumbed to Separatist firepower in the biggest space battle he'd ever seen.

Although he knew what his objective was – save the Chancellor as soon as possible – Anakin hated the fact that the clone pilots and their gunners were being picked off almost faster than he could count. Many of them were his friends, with bonds formed over countless hours in space together or in the hangars as they tinkered on their ships, and it hurt with every one that he lost.

They need help against those droid fighters or we're going to lose entire squads! Surely a minute or two won't make any difference to the overall mission?

Decided, Anakin started to swing his Interceptor around even as he said to Obi-Wan, "I'm gonna go help them out."

"No! No." his former Master replied back firmly, halting Anakin's turn before he could complete it. "They are doing their job so we can do ours. Stay on target."

Frag, Anakin snarled to himself as he returned to his previous course and Artoo beeped sympathetically. I hate when he's right. And I hate that we have to sacrifice so many men because he's right.

"Fine," he grumbled over the comm. "Staying on target."

"Don't worry about us, Yellow Leader," Odd Ball piped up suddenly. "This is what we were created for. Just go save the Chancellor and it will all be worth it."

That didn't make Anakin feel any better, but it did reaffirm the deep respect he had for the clones and their relentless determination against the worst possible circumstances that cost them their lives more often than not. As far as he was concerned, their dedication to a government that literally owned them like slaves was more than the Republic actually deserved. But just like the clones, he fought on with them because he saw no other option.

Yet.

"All right, Odd Ball. You just hang in there, okay?"

"I'll do my best, Sir," the clone said with hints of gratitude and amusement in his tone.

"See. They're doing their jobs," Obi-Wan said as relief filtered down their bond. "Now why don't we do ours and look out for whatever it is that's giving me a bad feeling right now?"

Since Anakin was getting that same feeling of impending danger – above and beyond the normal for their current situation – Anakin put extra effort into expanding his senses as he dodged and shot

droids and said, "Right. Good idea."

Only a few seconds later, he spotted the threat and called out, "Missiles! Pull up!" as they became the target of a Vulture Droid with a hate-on for them.

Anakin kept half an eye on Obi-Wan and the rest of his attention on the four deadly weapons as they sped towards them. He grinned in satisfaction as both he and his Master held their course until the last second and then dodged out of the way of the missiles.

"They overshot us!" Obi-Wan called in relief.

Anakin had his Force senses locked on the missiles now, tracking their progress. He hoped that the weapons would latch onto other targets –preferably another vulture droid – but they weren't that lucky. (They never were, to be honest.) "They're coming back around!"

"Split up!"

Anakin went left and Obi-Wan went right. Two missiles followed each of them.

He lost track of where Obi-Wan was for a minute as he dealt with own deadly stalkers, but he could still hear the older Jedi over their private comm channel. It was quite amusing, to say the least.

"Oh kriff."

"Let's swing around this…"

"Frag, I hate this."

"All right, Arfour, all right. You can stop cursing at me now."

"Yes, I know that was too close."

"No, I don't need to fly like Anakin to keep us alive."

"What do you mean prove it? I don't need to prove it."

"Oh, and you think you can do better?"

"Fine. But nothing too fancy!"

"Ahhhhhhhh! What did I just say!"

"Well, yes. I want to live, but did your really have to do that?"

Anakin was having so much fun listening to his Master's flying woes that it took him longer than it should have to lead his own missiles into a clear bit of open space so that he could safely pull off one of his favourite defensive moves.

"Ready, buddy?" he asked his trusty droid who knew him maybe even better than he knew himself.

"Ready," the word appeared on the computer screen in front of him even as Obi-Wan was muttering a rather inventive string of Mando'a, Huttese, and Basic curses in his ear.

"Annnnnnd… Now! Surge all power units, Artoo! Stand by the reverse thrusters!" he called as he

threw his fighter into a high-speed barrel roll designed to confuse the missiles behind him as they followed his fighter's energy signature until they crashed into each other.

It worked.

"We got 'em, Artoo!"

"Was there any doubt?" came back from the droid at the same time as Obi-Wan said, "That's great. Now… Would it be too much trouble for you to come do the same to mine?"

"Of course not." Anakin answered both as he grinned and then circled back the way he'd come from. He frowned again at what he saw in the debris field of the missiles. Kark. "Kay, buddy, let's go find Obi-Wan before Arfour gives him a heart attack or something." He started flying in the direction he could feel his Master had wandered off to.

"Good idea," Artoo sent.

"Not to rush you or anything, Anakin, but I swear I can feel my hair turning greyer by the moment," the man in question said, sounding just a little bit stressed. (Understatement.)

"Coming, Master. Just don't let those missiles get in front of you. I think I saw the carcass of a buzz droid or two in the missile debris."

"That's just karking lovely."

Anakin pushed his Interceptor to maximum speed as he dodged other Republic fighters, enemy droids, laser blasts from a thousand different directions, debris, and half a dozen battleships that had ended up between him and Obi-Wan.

Meanwhile, it sounded like Arfour had gotten exasperated with Obi-Wan's criticism of her flying.

"No, I don't think I can do a better job."

"What do you mean stop? I'm not doing anything!"

"Fraggity haran, Arfour! Watch out for that…"

"Crap. Fine. I'll fly again."

"Bloody hell. This is insane. Flying is for droids."

"Yes, yes! I apologize. It's all yours."

If the situation wasn't so dire, Anakin would probably be busting a gut laughing right now at how many swears the usually reserved and refined Jedi Master had sprouted in the last two minutes. (At least a month's worth even in normal battle situations.) He had a feeling that Obi-Wan would very happily never sit his arse in another starfighter again for the rest of his life starting the very moment the war ended. And he'd already spent as much of the war as he could doing any dangerous and insane thing necessary BUT fly in the space battles, avoiding them as much as possible.

"Anakin?"

"Almost there."

Anakin finally had Obi-Wan's burgundy and grey Interceptor with its two blue streaking shadows in sight when he saw a stray red laser bolt strike one of the ion engines at the back. The Interceptor lost half its momentum quickly as Obi-Wan and Arfour fought to hold their course steady. The missiles surged in front of Obi-Wan and exploded, releasing their small but very deadly cargo.

Kark, kark, karkity, kark! Anakin swore to himself as Obi-Wan called out, "I'm hit!"

That's what I get for letting myself get distracted, he thought angrily as way too many of the round little droids landed on Obi-Wan's fighter.

"Anakin?"

"I see them. Karking buzz droids."

As Anakin approached Obi-Wan's overwhelmed fighter from behind, he heard his Master

say, "Arfour, be careful! You have one…" Anakin winced and Artoo cried mournfully as they saw the astromech's red and silver dome going flying past them. "Oh dear," Obi-Wan said with genuine remorse in his cultured accent. "That's not good."

"No, it's not." Hopefully we can find and rebuild her, or Artoo's going to be devastated at the loss of his girlfriend.

"They're shutting down all the controls!"

Poodoo. I have to do something or I'm going to lose Obi-Wan!

"Hold still so I can get a clear shot," Anakin says as his eyes narrow with determination at the very serious threats to his Master's life.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Artoo sent him.

"What choice do I have?"

"The mission, Anakin! Get to the Command Ship! Get the Chancellor! I'm running out of tricks here."

"Just hang on, Obi-Wan. I'm going to help you."

"Fine. But…"

Anakin cut off any further protestations by shooting at his Master's ship with very careful, Force aided aim. Or more specifically the buzz droids currently ripping it apart with a malicious glee he can actually feel.

He got three of the little fraggers.

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan's malfunctioning ship swerved just a fraction too much at just the wrong time and he also shot the S-foil off the end of the Interceptor's left wing.

Oops.

"In the name of..." Obi-Wan protested.

"Sorry, Master. I'll just…" Anakin started as he lined up for another shot at the shuddering and twitching starfighter.

"Hold your fire! You're not helping here!"

Anakin relaxed his fingers on the triggers as the Force seconded Obi-Wan's call to abandon that method. "I agree. Bad idea."

Anakin surged forward instead to draw alongside the other Interceptor as Obi-Wan cried, "Wait, I can't see a thing! My cockpit's fogging." And then a couple seconds later, he added in a resigned tone, "They're all over me, Anakin, you should just go."

Not a chance in any of the hells.

"Just try and hold steady," Anakin said as he moved even closer, closing the S-foils on his wings so he could try and use the one on his right to scrape off the buzz droids from Obi-Wan's ship.

He only managed to squash one on the first attempt while doing even more damage to the already hurting fighter.

A flash of alarm shot down their bond as Obi-Wan saw what he was doing and all but yelled, "Hold on, Anakin. You're going to get us both killed!"

"No I'm not. Trust me for once, will you?"

Of course his Master ignored one of his many, many pleas to be treated like he actually knew what he was doing sometimes. "Get out of here. There's nothing more you can do."

Anakin snarled to himself. Stubborn arse. "I'm not leaving without you, Master." "Ever," he added mentally through their bond, just to enforce how dead serious he was about it.

Anakin would never leave anyone he considered to be family behind to die again.

"All right, Anakin. Do what you must."

He nudged his ship over another few fractions and scraped his wing over Obi-Wan's again.

This time, he got four of the last five droids and he mentally cheered as Obi-Wan let him feel his relief, love, and even a hint of pride that made Anakin puff up a little at accomplishing something nearly everyone would think to be impossible.

The only drawback was that the last buzz droid took the opportunity to crawl over to Anakin's fighter. Better on mine than Obi-Wan's poor smoking ship. We don't have far to go anyway, thank the Force, since he probably can't see worth a damn out the front.

By some miracle, despite all of their random manoevreing through the battle to avoid the missiles, they'd ended up back near the center again without even trying and Grievous' flagship was once again in sight.

Obi-Wan confirmed his theory a moment later by saying, "Blast it… I can't see… And my controls are all but gone."

"Just stay beside me as best as you… Kriff," Anakin changed his focus as the buzz droid that had been wandering over his precious fighter like it couldn't decide where to start finally set his sights on Artoo. Murderous little bastard. If I didn't need two hands to fly, I would fling that fragger so far with the Force it would get stuck up the exhaust port of that Seppie ship over there.

Instead, he could only watch with baited breath as Artoo extended an electric probe to try and stave

off his attacker. "Get him, Artoo!" he encouraged while keeping one eye on their destination and possible obstructions in their path. "Watch out!" he called as the buzz droid almost got past Artoo's defences.

"Artoo, hit the buzz droid's center eye!" Obi-Wan called over the comm helpfully.

Anakin's beloved blue and silver astromech did just that, and the buzz droid went sailing off into space, electricity sparking through its fried circuits.

"Yeah, you got him!" Anakin cheered.

"Great, Artoo," Obi-Wan praised.

"Thanks, Master," Anakin said gratefully, happy his droid hadn't met the same fate as Arfour. (Finding one astromech dome in the aftermath of this mess would be hard enough.) "Stay on my wing, Obi-Wan, the General's Command Ship is dead ahead. We'll aim for the main hangar right in the middle."

"That's all well and good, Anakin, but have you noticed the shields are still up?" Obi-Wan said in his infamous dry tone of blasé amusement.

If Obi-Wan could see the blue shields protecting the hangar from space through the fog and smoke blocking his view, then they were definitely up. (As they should be.) And at their current rate of speed, they were more likely to bounce off them like space junk rather than slip through like a normal ship on its sedate landing approach.

Too late to slow down now, especially since Obi-Wan probably can't, which is what he's probably trying to tell me in his usual roundabout way. Which means I'm being a reckless idiot again. Kark.

"Oh! Sorry, Master!" he said sincerely (for once) and then streaked ahead to shoot out the shield generator that was thankfully on the side of the ship right beside the hangar.

The unfortunate drawback to that was that the massive blast doors started closing rapidly in the next instant.

Anakin circled back around to fall in behind Obi-Wan again so he could watch the sputtering starfighter's progress with the closing door and almost laughed out loud as his Master said the phrase uttered or cursed the most by nearly every Jedi over the last three years worth of never-ending battles:

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this."

Intrepid Rescuers (part 1)

A/N: This arc is going to be a mix of canon, deleted scenes, and stuff I make up just for the fun of it. Hope you like it. :D

Intrepid Rescuers (part 1):

Obi-Wan's heart was climbing up his throat as he willed a little more speed out of his dying Interceptor. Through the side window of the cockpit, he watched the progress of the rapidly slamming shut hangar blast door and estimated that at his current speed, he would just make it into the hangar of Grievous' command ship before he ended up as nothing more than a smear on the side of the durasteel plating.

But he didn't relax until he'd managed to land his fighter on the deck of the hangar using the will of the Force more than the actual –and mostly useless – controls.

The instant his ruined and smoking fighter scraped the decking, Obi-Wan pushed the transparisteel cover open with a shove of the Force and leapt out with possibly more enthusiasm than actually necessary. But, kriff, am I ever happy to be free of that deathtrap. It would make this hellish year just a fraction more bearable if I never have to fly another one of those again.

He landed in the midst of a battalion of B-1's, much to their dismay. Obi-Wan had no problem making use of his excess adrenaline to slice the stupid droids into pieces as he neatly dodged or returned their defensive fire.

A fraction of his awareness was also following the progress of Anakin, who had used the body of his fighter to wipe out another battalion, sending mechanical limbs flying hither and yon, and was now casually dismantling droids with his lightsabre as well as they worked their way towards each other.

"What do you want me to do?" Artoo beeped just as they accomplished that, standing back to back against the advancing droids who still remained.

Obi-Wan spared a glance for the admittedly very useful droid who had somehow survived being Anakin's astromech for nearly three whole years of warfare insanity and other adventures. Unlike poor Arfour. "Locate the Chancellor!"

"Okidokey!" the blue and silver droid beeped, and then started rolling for the nearest wall socket, unfazed in the slightest by the wildly flying red blaster bolts.

As the last battle droid fell to the decking with a dying groan of disbelief, he and Anakin looked at each other and grinned. "Just another day in the office, right, Master?"

Obi-Wan snorted as they turned towards the wall and Artoo. "Not that I mind the constant lightsabre practice, but I'm still looking forward to the day our job description changes."

"Tell me about it," Anakin replied with a roll of the eyes. "A proper holiday, at the very least." "One that happens to be in the same vicinity as a certain Senator?" Obi-Wan couldn't help teasing.

Anakin shot him a sideways look as they stopped by Artoo, who was still working. "I don't think I should answer that."

Obi-Wan inclined his head in acknowledgment. "You're probably right."

"Found him!" Artoo beeped as he projected a blueprint of the dreadnought.

"Good job, buddy," Anakin praised, touching the dome of his droid with his bare hand.

Artoo purred his thanks, rocking slightly on his struts.

Having long ago accepted that Anakin had basically turned his droid into a beloved pet that he'd do almost anything to keep alive, Obi-Wan only rolled his eyes in his mind before he pointed to the dot at the top of the blueprint. "The Chancellor's signal is coming from there; the observation platform at the top of that spire."

Anakin frowned, closing his eyes for a moment as he concentrated. "I can sense him. But I can also sense Dooku."

Obi-Wan copied his apprentice, stretching his Force senses out and up. The Chancellor's old and fuzzy signature was easy to find on the ship full of droids. And Anakin was correct; there was another life signature near the Chancellor's. One he'd encountered often enough to recognize. This one was powerful and writhed with the Dark side.

And that wasn't all.

He also sensed Grievous' cold and oily signature very near to another familiar and disturbingly faint one. One that was dear to him in the way all of his good friends were. Mace did say that they didn't know where she was. With the realization of what they were dealing with, Obi-Wan felt the familiar tingle of a warning from the Force. "And I sense a trap. They have Master Ti, as well."

"Well, kark," Anakin cursed. "So what do we do?"

Obi-Wan grinned in anticipation of hopefully dealing with Grievous and Dooku once and for all. "Spring the trap."

Anakin shrugged slightly and grinned back as they started walking for an exit out of the hangar. "Sounds like fun."

"What about me?" Artoo beeped from behind them.

Uhhhhhhhh.

Anakin turned around and said, "You should stay here with the ship, just in case."

Obi-Wan raised a brow at that. Well, worst case scenario, Artoo can fly the Chancellor to safety at least. Don't know what the rest of us will do about getting off this ship, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. We always do.

"Okay," the little droid beeped, sagging a little in his struts, disappointed at being left behind.

Feeling sorry for him and thinking that having a droid hooked into the system might come in handy, Obi-Wan tossed a commlink at the blue and silver astromech. "Here, take this. See if you can tap into the security feeds and warn us if we're going to walk into anything unpleasant."

Holding the comm in a manipulator like a trophy and plugging back into the wall, Artoo beeped happily, "Okay, Master's Master."

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan with a little bit of shock on his face. "Obi-Wan, are you actually

starting to appreciate my droid?"

"Don't start," Obi-Wan grumbled as they resumed walking in the correct direction.

"Who, me?" Anakin grinned, bouncing a little like he used to as a youngling.

"Yes, you. We both know you…"

BOOM!

They spun around and were greeted by a wave of heat and shrapnel that Anakin automatically threw up a hand to block with a Force shield. Obi-Wan blinked at the ball of flames that used to be his starfighter. Holy frag! I would have died in that! But Obi-Wan, being Obi-Wan, only said dryly, "I'm adding that to your starship and speeder kill count."

Anakin lowered his hand now that the danger had passed and gave him a (mostly) fake glare of hurt as they turned back around and made for the hallway out of the hangar yet again. (After he'd flicked his gaze in Artoo's direction to make sure his droid was unscathed from the blast.) "How is that one my fault? You're the one who let buzz droids land on it."

"Let them!? I didn't let them! And it's your fault because you shot at my fighter!"

"All right. I'll give you that one. Add it to my tally."

"I already did."

Their bickering had brought them to an intersection of corridors.

"Which way now, oh wise and all-knowing Master?" Anakin snarked.

"How should I know?" Obi-Wan snarked back as he looked both ways down the hallway, waiting for a sign from the Force or something equally useful to guide him.

Nothing was forthcoming.

"You're the Chosen One with the ridiculous midi-chlorian count, you choose," Obi-Wan finally said after turning his head a few times too many.

Anakin shrugged. "Fine. Then I choose left."

Five seconds later…

"Never mind! Other way!" Anakin called as a squadron of super battle droids with a large droideka escort turned into the same corridor from further down.

They turned and bolted back down the corridor the other way, both knowing they could deal with the droidekas if they had enough time, but why waste the precious commodity when it wasn't necessary?

Turned out it was necessary.

"Blast!" Obi-Wan groaned as they skidded to a stop when another herd of clankers turned into their corridor from the other side. As their lightsabres went to work deflecting blaster bolts and they were slowly surrounded from both sides, Obi-Wan couldn't help but call out to his former Padawan, "You know, your droid isn't doing a very good job of warning us of unpleasant situations so far!"

Anakin, leaping and dodging agilely like a nexu on the hunt as he worked his way around the droidekas to their left, called back, "He didn't have time! We only left the hangar a minute ago!"

"Sure, sure. Defend him if you must," Obi-Wan teased as he dropped and rolled to avoid a wave of blaster fire from his own set of advancing destroyer droids. He rolled right towards them and took out two of the shielded death-machines from underneath on his way by. "But I think he's got a few crossed wires with all the adjustments you've made to his programming over the years."

"There's nothing wrong with Artoo!" Anakin snapped back petulantly, now slicing and dicing a couple of the thickly built B-2s.

Obi-Wan only refrained from laughing at how easy it was to bug his Padawan because he couldn't afford to take his focus off his own set of clanking annoyances. "Fine. Then he's just slow."

"He's not… Grrrr." Anakin gave up, sending his displeasure down their bond before turning all of his concentration into finishing off the last of their unwelcome company, including the last three B-2s from Obi-Wan's half of the battle.

The Jedi Master was happy to let him, if it meant Anakin took his frustration out on something other than himself.

Two minutes after they'd started down the corridor, it was over and there was a heap of sparking droid bits up and down the hallway. Proud of himself, Anakin was grinning once again. "Killing those things never gets old."

"I'm glad you think so, Anakin," Obi-Wan said dryly as they stepped over parts on their way to the bank of elevators they could now see way down the corridor. "Because at this rate, we'll be fighting this bloody war until even you start spouting grey hairs."

Anakin glanced at the grey in Obi-Wan's temples and smirked. "At least it looks good on you."

He wrinkled his nose at the cheeky young man. "And those grey hairs are going on your tally as well. I'm sure I've spouted a few more today already."

"Sorry, Master." His blue eyes were twinkling and Anakin most certainly didn't mean it.

Obi-Wan sighed to himself as they came to a stop in front of the line of turbolift doors. Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve him.

Their commlinks chimed and a bunch of garbled binary sounded through the hallway.

"Now he warns us," Obi-Wan said, huffing and crossing his arms.

Anakin shot him a look that clearly said, 'stuff it', and pulled his comm out from his belt and said, "What was that, Artoo?"

"… the … elevator … squad of …"

Anakin frowned at the commlink, shaking it. "It's broken. Can you understand what he's saying?"

Obi-Wan raised an amused eyebrow. As if I'm supposed to know what your droid is saying better than you? "I'm not a protocol droid, but I did hear something about an elevator."

Anakin looked at the three options for elevators and muttered, "Great. More choices." He glared at each door for a prolonged amount of time as the seconds dragged by.

Obi-Wan leaned a shoulder against the wall. "Take your time. It's not like the Chancellor and Master Ti are waiting for us to save them or anything."

Anakin shot him another, 'stuff it and die' look that only made Obi-Wan smirk under his mustache.

"Kark pat," the younger Jedi muttered in Huttese and smacked the button to summon the middle lift.

"As good a choice as any," Obi-Wan laughed.

And then the familiar sound of rolling droidekas had them spinning around again with lightsabres in hand to face the corridor.

Mating Surprises

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: I think we're an E now... (In the tune of 'I think we're alone now'. :D)

Also, as someone pointed out already, 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

Intrepid Rescuers (part 2)

Intrepid Rescuers (part 2):

At the familiar clatter of rolling droids, Anakin spun around. "Destroyers!" he called in warning as he called his lightsabre back into his hand.

Oh, lovely... More, he overheard Obi-Wan think rather loudly from beside him.

Anakin grinned at his Master's sarcasm as they deflected shots from the shielded droids and backed into the well timed opening door of the turbolift he'd summoned only seconds ago.

Hey, something actually worked out for once!

Obi-Wan overheard his thought too, and sent back in an amusement-laced tone, "The odds were bound to give us something positive at least once," as the doors closed in front of them, enclosing them in safety.

"Drop your weapon," the familiar voice of a B-1 ordered from behind them.

"Or not," Anakin thought back with a mental eye roll.

They turned around and looked at the squadron of battle droids already in the elevator with identical looks of 'you've got to be kidding.'

I think I know what Artoo was trying to warn us about now.

"I said drop 'em," the squad leader said demandingly, pointing his E-5 blaster rifle at Anakin while the rest of the squad raised theirs as well with a chorus of, 'roger rogers'.

Yeah, right.

Anakin and Obi-Wan glanced at each other.

"Shall we put them out of our misery?" Obi-Wan thought, one copper eyebrow rising slightly as his changeable eyes twinkled a merry blue.

"We shall."

The droids didn't even get a chance to fire off a shot in the confined space as the two Jedi sliced and diced them to efficient bits with dying cries of, 'No!" echoing in their ears.

Only seconds after igniting their lightsabres, Obi-Wan looked at the pile of droid bits and toed the squad leader's head and said mockingly. "Roger roger."

Anakin cracked up as they turned to face the doors again. "Roger roger. Kriff, Obi-Wan. You're such a nerfherder." Anakin pushed the button for the highest floor with the unlit end of his lightsabre.

"And proud of it," Obi-Wan replied with a smirk at his own lightsabre as he inspected it casually.

As the lift flew upwards, carrying them towards their heroic moment of rescuing the Chancellor, Anakin glanced back at the pile of droid parts pointedly. "You know, there was once a time when I felt bad about destroying them - I like droids, and these ones are endearingly stupid – but now I'm

just glad to see them in pieces."

Obi-Wan, who was now fiddling with one of the tiny screws holding the belt hook onto the end of his lightsabre, glanced up, eyes serious and suddenly more grey than blue. "And that's why we need this war to end; we're all becoming a little harder and uncaring because of it. We were never meant to be soldiers and it's slowly but surely destroying what the Jedi are."

Anakin scowled bitterly. "Ahsoka leaving is proof enough of that. I'm just hoping that we can straighten things up enough to prove to her that the Order is worthy of coming back to. It kills me that she's off saving the galaxy on her own."

Obi-Wan frowned at the recalcitrant screw that appeared to be stripped and wouldn't tighten properly. "I wouldn't say she's on her own; she appears to have been adopted by the Mandalorians if her outfit and beskar armour were anything to go by. She even had the Iron Heart designed into her tunic, and that symbol isn't something they would let an outsider wear."

It wasn't much of a consolation, considering Ahsoka was supposed to be his family, not some random Mando clan's, but it was better than nothing. At least she's not alone.

Obi-Wan gave up on the loose screw and hung his lightsabre on his belt. Or tried to. Because the hook was loose, it kept missing its destination. The fact that the lift suddenly stopped all on its own didn't help.

Even though neither of them had gone anywhere near the control panel, they had to ask.

"Did you press the stop button?"

"No. Did you?"

"No."

Weird. "You don't have to worry, Master, we'll simply take another elevator," Anakin said, and then stepped forward to hit the door button.

Only to be greeted by a few dozen B-1s and their ever present blaster rifles. B-1s who looked like they had been waiting for them. Which made the suddenly stopping elevator make sense. And could also be what Artoo was trying to warn them about.

Poodoo! Scratch that. "Bad idea!"

Obi-Wan was clearly meant to just hold his lightsabre like Anakin was, because their weapons were lit once again as they blocked multiple shots from sending them to early graves. Anakin spared half a second to push the door button again with a few enthusiastic jabs of a finger.

Once the doors had enclosed them in temporary safety again, Anakin started looking for another way out. His gaze settled on the ceiling after deciding that cutting the floor was an even worse idea. "There's more than one way out of here," he said determinedly as he lifted his lightsabre to start cutting a hole.

Obi-Wan, being the more cool-headed one, just huffed, unimpressed. "We don't want to get out, we want to get moving."

Anakin had to concede that his Master was likely right, as usual, but he continued cutting his hole anyway. The comm probably isn't working anyway.

Whether Obi-Wan remembered that the comm was working or not, he was determined to try it. He pulled out his commlink and said with an increasingly elevated tone, "Artoo? Activate elevator 31174. Come in Artoo. Artoo, do you copy? Artoo, activate the elevator number 31174. Artoo! Activate the elevator 31174! Artoo!"

During all of that, Anakin was dying with laughter on the inside, but he hid it from Obi-Wan just so he could hear the other man talk uselessly into the commlink some more.

And he finished cutting his hole in the ceiling of the thick durasteel.

Thanks to the artificial gravity that kept them from floating, the circle of heavy metal dropped to the ground between the two men with a clang, crushing a few droid parts. Anakin smirked at Obi-Wan. See. My way's better. And then leapt up through the hole and onto the roof of the elevator.

"Always on the move," Obi-Wan grumbled. I swear he has the patience of a flea.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to."

"Ha."

Anakin peered down through the hole to see if Obi-Wan was going to follow him up and found him banging his commlink against the wall before trying it again. "Artoo, can you hear me? Artoo."

He's like a mooka with a bone, I swear.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to."

"Insolent brat."

"Takes one to know one."

Obi-Wan looked up at him through the hole. "I'm far too old to be a brat." He sniffed haughtily and then grinned mischievously. "A cheeky arse, now, that's another thing entirely."

Anakin smirked back down. "Accurate. Who called you that?"

"Satine."

Anakin winced at the sudden nostalgia in Obi-Wan's tone. "Ah, sorry to remind you of it, then."

"No. No. It's okay. She usually said it with affection. Usually."

They shared a knowing smile about the fun times of loving a strong willed woman, and then Obi-Wan was trying to get a response from his commlink again. "Artoo, can you hear me? Artoo!" Blasted commlink. Or is it cross-wired droid?

Hey!

Before he could properly scold Obi-Wan for his lack of faith in Artoo, the elevator dropped out from under Anakin's feet.

Kark!

With the battle honed reflexes that had done the job of keeping him alive so far, Anakin used the half millisecond that he was still sort of touching the roof of the elevator to push off with the Force and leap for the ledge of the floor that they had been parked at, while Obi-Wan's yelp of surprise echoed up the elevator shaft.

Great. Now I'm stuck hanging here. And... Obi-Wan's plunging downwards! "Obi-Wan! Are you okay?"

"I'm just dandy. Thank you. And you?"

"Oh. Just hanging out. No biggie."

"Ha. I think Artoo finally heard me. But he's got this thing going the wrong way."

"Yah think?"

Anakin peered down as best as he could over his arm to watch the progress of the lift but had to look up again quickly when the door above him suddenly opened. Two battle droids looked down at him and then one very stupidly said, "Hands up, Jedi." (It was so stupid even the other B-1 realized it, glancing at his partner with as sceptical a look as a basically faceless droid could pull off.)

Are you kriffing kidding me? My hands are already up. And holding me up.

A clatter from the lift far, far below him and another faint echo of a yelp from Obi-Wan had Anakin and the droids peering downwards again. Anakin was very happy to see the lift start to fly back up the shaft towards him.

Except I'll get splattered if I stay here.

After a quick glance at his options, he braced his feet against the wall and leapt to the other side of the shaft, where there was a ledge big enough to stand on – which he would have found and moved to eventually when hanging got old if the elevator continued in the wrong direction - and then waited for just the right timing to jump onto the speeding lift.

As he leapt, the poor idiot droids who'd been leaning over the edge and watching the progress as well finally realized that a good third of their bodies were in the danger zone. A cringe-worthy, "Uh oh," came from one just a fraction before their bodies were slammed into by the roof of the elevator, sending parts flying just as Anakin landed on the roof.

Well. That was fun. And pointless, he thought with a mental huff of annoyance as he dropped down through the hole that had gotten him exactly nowhere.

Only to be greeted by Obi-Wan's lightsabre.

"Oh, it's you," the somewhat rumpled looking Jedi said, turning off his lightsabre and running a hand through his hair to fix it.

Anakin gave his former Master a look of extreme exasperation. "Who else would be dropping down through the ceiling?"

Looking somewhat apologetic, Obi-Wan only shrugged.

Anakin upped his glare, just because he couldn't resist teasing his friend. "What was that all about?"

Obi-Wan saw right through him, of course, and teased right back. "Well, Artoo has been..."

"Ennnn," he cut the other man off, now glaring for real. "No loose wire jokes."

"Did I say anything?" His eyes were very blue again and sparkling like wicked topaz gems.

"He's trying," Anakin said defensively.

"I didn't say anything."

"But you thought it," he grumbled as he checked the progress of the elevator. Only five floors to go to get to the top level of the tower where the Chancellor was supposed to be.

The lift came to a smooth stop two seconds later as Obi-Wan casually adjusted his brown robe to sit perfectly on his shoulders and snarked back, "Did not."

Anakin very nearly said, 'Did too,' but held his tongue because he wanted to be the more mature one for once. He compromised by giving the other man a look of sheer disbelief as they exited the elevator.

Obi-Wan showed many white teeth in return.

Their expressions both fell to serious at the same time as they turned the corner into the main hallway and found Grievous, four Magna Guards, and Shaak Ti all waiting for them about halfway down it.

The Togrutan Jedi Master was kneeling on the floor in a puddle of brown robes with her hands cuffed behind her back. She looked pale and shaky, her upper lip and cheek were swollen on the left side, and there was blood trickling through her robes from a scorched lightsabre slash across her side that had also singed her lek, which was slightly curled and trembling from the pain. The other striped lek just trembled. Her Force signature was so weak, he was amazed she was awake.

"Kark. What did they do to her?"

"I don't know," Obi-Wan replied down their bond as they advanced carefully towards the group. "But they're going to regret it."

"Master!" Anakin thought back in shock as they eyeballed Grievous with identical expressions of barely disguised fury. "Did you just have an un-Jedi-like thought?"

"Believe it or not, my dear former Padawan, even I am not infallible."

Anakin shot his Master a glance of amazement at the confession he never thought he'd hear. "So today, revenge IS the Jedi way?"

Obi-Wan glanced back at him as they came to a stop about two metres from Master Ti. His mouth twitched upward ever so slightly. "I suppose, just for today, it is. Just don't tell the Council I said that."

Anakin almost did a happy dance, despite the situation. "About kriffing time you thought for yourself."

"Anakin..." Obi-Wan sighed. "Don't start on that again. We have much more important things to

concern ourselves with at the moment. Like saving Shaak." "Sorry, Master."

Intrepid Rescuers (part 3)

Intrepid Rescuers (part 3):

"I'm sorry, Master Kenobi. I failed."

Master Ti's defeated tone and lifeless eyes inspired Anakin's glare at Grievous to transform from hate-filled to flat-out murderous. And then it ramped up to practically volcanic when the cyborg General dared to caress the Togrutan Jedi's montral like he had every right to. Echuta. If he ever touched Ahsoka like that…

The shudder worthy thought made him want to cut off the offending hand and then stab the metal excuse for a being through whatever remained of his withered heart. A few dozen times.

Grievous was ignoring Anakin, though, his entire focus on Obi-Wan as if Anakin didn't exist to him. Considering that we've never actually met in combat by some weird fluke over the entirety of three years of war, it's highly possible that the sleemo General doesn't actually consider me to be an opponent worth paying any attention to. Which he'll regret soon enough, if I can just find the right opportunity.

"Ahhhh. General Kenobi. We've been waiting for you," Grievous said with a hint of a wheeze behind his glee-filled words.

At the same time as the cyborg was talking, a sudden chill in the Force had Anakin's fine hairs standing on end. The next instant, an image flashed into his mind:

He saw Grievous crouched down behind Shaak Ti and a blue lightsabre impaling her through the heart from behind. And then like an incredibly unpleasant echo, he saw it again, but this time it was like he was seeing through the murderous villain's eyes as he looked down at the top of Master Ti's montrals and saw a blue lightsabre emerge from her chest.

Anakin actually shivered from the ice that flooded his veins at the warning from the Force.

And then Grievous was crouching, just like in his vision.

"Master!" Anakin yelled mentally at the same time as he grabbed Shaak Ti with the Force and pulled her as hard and as fast as he could towards himself.

Grievous was left looking amusingly shocked with a just lit lightsabre in hand, which Obi-Wan pulled towards himself in the cyborg's moment of surprise that his plan had been foiled. "What?!" His gold eyes narrowed as he rose to his full height, clenching his now empty fist. "Stinking Jedi. You all deserve to die." He pulled out two more lightsabres from somewhere on his person and started stalking towards them as the hallway suddenly filled with battle droids from in front and behind them.

Anakin crouched down beside the dazed Jedi Master and put a hand on her shoulder, transferring as much Force energy into her as he could spare as Obi-Wan cut her binders with her own lightsabre that he'd just reclaimed and then handed the hilt to her.

Obi-Wan then lit his own lightsabre and faced off against Grievous. "I have to disagree with you, General. We won't be the one's dying today. You and your droids on the other hand…" Even though his Master's back was to him now, Anakin knew he was smirking under his moustache as his enjoyment at taunting Grievous travelled down their bond.

Grievous roared with rage and then lightsabres clashed.

Trusting Obi-Wan to take care of himself, Anakin addressed Master Ti. "Can you get up now?"

"Yes," she nodded.

Anakin helped the Togrutan to her feet with a quick tug on one of her small and elegant hands. She gave him a grateful look that needed no words to translate, looking much better with a quick infusion of the Force flowing through her. Well… Not perfect, but her skin was actually red again and her lekku had stopped trembling, at least. Her wounds would still need attention as soon as possible, though.

While Obi-Wan and Grievous traded insults and duelled in the center of the ever-expanding compliment of droids that were still arriving en masse, Anakin and Shaak lit their lightsabres and assessed their situation.

It didn't look good.

Between the magna guards and the packed hallway filled with battle droids of various classifications, it would be almost impossible for them to escape this without further injury to the weakened Master if they were to try to fight their way out.

Maybe if Master Ti was in top form and we had Ahsoka too.

But she isn't and we don't, so…

Time for plan B again.

And this time, the floor will do just fine.

Anakin grinned fleetingly to himself as he turned his lightsabre towards the floor and started cutting a large circle. Master Ti caught on almost instantly and helped with her own blue blade.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin called down their bond. "You can skewer Grievous later! We're taking Exit Eyebrow!"

"Fine!"

As blaster fire started raining on them to try and prevent their escape and as he finished his half of the circle, Anakin saw Obi-Wan Force push Grievous into the electrostaff of one his Magna Guards and then flip backwards to land beside him just as the floor dropped out from under them.

They landed in the maintenance hallway below, which was unfortunately filled almost waist deep already with what had to be fuel from the smell and colour of it. And more was pouring in from the broken pipe high up on the wall with every second. And was, of course, rising quickly since the blast doors were sealed at either end of the corridor. Well, poodoo. Down wasn't the right way this time either.

They all immediately turned off their lightsabres so they didn't spark off a massive ball of flames that would toast them instantly.

Obi-Wan gave him one of his patented looks of resigned disbelief. "How do you always manage to find the worst possible outcome for everything you do?"

The young Knight shrugged as they started slugging through the bright green fuel at a fast clip. "I

came to the conclusion long ago that bad luck is as permanently affixed to me as my shadow." He glanced back to the hole in the ceiling at the sound of splashing to see a dozen super battle droids drop down into the fuel-filled hallway with them. He increased his pace. "The good news is that they don't dare shoot at us. We're safe for the time being."

"You're idea of safe is not the same as mine," Obi-Wan teased wryly, glancing pointedly back at the battle droids that they were just managing to stay out of reach of and then up at the sparking electrical wires that had been damaged by the same external blast that had broken the fuel line.

"Is this really how all of your missions go?" Shaak Ti asked, her multihued grey eyes wide as she ran while holding her injured side with one hand.

"Unfortunately, yes." Obi-Wan answered.

"How do you two ever accomplish anything?"

Anakin grinned at her fleetingly. "Sheer guts and a refusal to admit defeat."

"He has the stubborn willpower of a whole herd of eopies," Obi-Wan added helpfully.

Anakin snorted as he spotted a service hatch high up a wall that looked like an excellent way out of their current predicament. "And I'm just as full of wind Ahsoka would say if she were here." Stars, I miss her.

This brought a smile to Master Ti's face and made Obi-Wan smirk. "I do miss having a second person here with the same love of teasing you that I have. Rex and Cody are too respectful to be much fun."

"Thanks, Master," Anakin said dryly, rolling his eyes before jumping to the top of the ladder and turning his attention to the keyboard beside the hatch. It was locked, of course. He solved that with a moment of focus in the Force that triggered the release mechanism.

Once everyone had swiftly climbed through just ahead of the grasping hands of the battle droids and into the small service tunnel that would require crawling to traverse, Anakin sealed the hatch by plunging his lightsabre into the keyboard on this side. The durasteel echoed as the droids banged on the other side. He grinned at the hatch maliciously. "Have a nice death, sleemo clankers." He turned and found the two older Jedi watching him with nearly identical looks of gentle reprimand. "Crawl," he ordered them, pretending like that wasn't creepy or anything. "We don't have long before this whole section of the ship blows out."

Obi-Wan blinked once. "Right." And then he turned and started crawling like his life depended on it. Shaak Ti followed and Anakin brought up the rear. Being a healthy male, happily married and hopelessly in love with said wife or not, he couldn't help but appreciate the shapely curve of the Togrutan's arse that her thick robes couldn't disguise as it swayed from side to side only a metre in front of his eyes.

But that made him feel kind of dirty and weird, so he dragged his eyes off her rump and focused on the tall curve of her horns instead. Which helped remind him of Ahsoka and completely obliterated any desire to admire the back end of the Togrutan Master. Thank you, Snips.

After roughly a minute's worth of crawling that their knees were going to remind them of for at least a day, Obi-Wan found another hatch above them that led to the bottom of an elevator shaft. Since up was an excellent idea, they used the small grappling hooks in their utility belts to climb the shaft quickly, going up three floors at a time with Shaak Ti clinging to Obi-Wan's back with her

arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

The look the older man was wearing said he didn't mind at all, even if his heart still belonged to a dead woman.

Anakin couldn't blame him for it.

After rising six floors, Anakin stopped and triggered the doors to open and they all swung into the (thankfully) empty hallway. Then Anakin closed the doors and used his lightsabre to weld them shut while Shaak Ti dropped nimbly off of Obi-Wan and then swayed slightly.

Obi-Wan studied his effort with a raised eyebrow as he casually wrapped a supportive arm around Shaak Ti's waist. "What are you doing?"

"The blast will break the hull," Anakin explained out loud while smirking mentally. "Smooth, Master, real smooth." "This side is now pressurized."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Shut up." "Anakin, you still have much to learn. That'll never hold." Anakin only looked at him with a 'really?' expression.

And just to prove his point, the fuel below them finally ignited, shaking the ship below their feet. Master Ti clung to Obi-Wan with a startled squeak, much to Anakin's amusement and Obi-Wan's apparent enjoyment. A second later, the doors bent outwards as the blast concussion travelled through the ship, but the weld held.

Obi-Wan gawked at the rounded durasteel and then huffed. "All right, I still have much to learn." Anakin grinned at him. "Can I get that in writing?"

"No," Obi-Wan growled as Master Ti laughed softly and reluctantly – at least, that's how it looked to Anakin - extracted herself from Obi-Wan's now unnecessary hold. She certainly was looking at the handsome, copper haired Jedi as though she'd never really seen him before.

Almost dying does tend to rearrange a person's priorities. And she's never come so close to it before now, so she didn't know what it's really like to be mortal and to feel like one's life is slipping away unlived.

Maybe those two will get together.

Wouldn't that be something? Obi-Wan certainly deserves some happiness after all the poodoo he's been through.

Obi-Wan pulled him from his wistful thoughts by saying, "Let's go. We need to find an escape pod for Shaak and then get on with rescuing the Chancellor." He started down the hallway with brisk steps.

Master Ti pulled Obi-Wan to a stop by the sleeve almost immediately and shook her head emphatically, sending her long lekku swaying across her chest. "No! I want to help you, Obi-Wan! It's not just Grievous here. Count Dooku is on board as well!"

Obi-Wan grasped her shoulders gently and met her eyes with an apologetic shake of his head. "We know. We can handle it, don't worry. The best thing you can do to help me is to get yourself to safety so I'm not distracted by worrying about you, okay?"

Anakin blinked at the scene before him. Whoa. This is getting intense. At this rate, he'll be kissing her by tomorrow.

Assuming the stupid Jedi code doesn't rear its ugly head with reminders about 'no attachments' that no one needs right now and ruin everything, that is.

"Okay," she whispered back. "But I don't like it."

Obi-Wan raised a hand as though he wanted to touch her cheek before he dropped it to his side with a sigh. "I know. I'm sorry."

And there it is. Karking code.

Obi-Wan turned away from Shaak Ti, his expression set and weary. "Come on, Anakin. There has to be a bank of escape pods around here somewhere."

Anakin glanced at the equally weary and hurt expression on Master Ti's face just in time to see it transform to determined acceptance. He suppressed the urge to scowl. "I'm sure there is. If we don't stumble on one soon, I'll try and contact Artoo."

"Good." Obi-Wan nodded and set off down the corridor with the Jedi Master following behind him, her head bowed as she stared at the floor with her arms wrapped around herself.

Anakin shook his head in defeat at how stubbornly stupid the Jedi Masters were and followed.

Huttese Translations:

Echuta – Worst possible curse word. I imagine it would be like saying 'fucking slimeball whoreson' all at once. (Or something like that. :P)

A/N: Exit Eyebrow - If you don't get this reference, look up the deleted scenes from the Invisible Hand on youtube. :D

Captain Enlightenment

A/N: Some of the Mando'a that follows is my own interpretation of the language, just to give a heads up to the diehard nitpickers out there before you decide to chew me out again for taking creative license with a fake language that has approximately 30 words listed in canon. :P

Captain Enlightenment:

Ahsoka still had a hard time believing that the feel of Rex's strong, large, but oh-so-careful hands petting her lekku had been so different and decidedly more stimulating than any of the many other times her sensitive headtails had been touched, but it was true. He'd sent her body into spasms of ecstasy that now had blissful content settling into her very bones, and the sopping panties she was currently wishing would disappear were evidence enough to prove that it had, in fact, happened. All of her close friends knew that she liked to have her rear lek stroked when she was going to sleep, and they'd all done so on multiple occasions. Even Rex. But he'd only ever touched her with gloves on. The feel of her chosen mate's bare skin against hers had triggered a completely new response from her body that she had to think could have been discovered years ago if she'd even once caught him with his gloves off when she fell asleep against his shoulder.

Which was a pity of rather depressing proportions, but at least she'd found her mate before it was too late altogether.

When she'd brought Rex into this (astonishingly luxurious) cabin, she'd honestly thought that they'd do a whole lot of talking and then explore a bit of kissing and then crash for a few hours all snuggled up together before they had to be up again and organizing for war. But that's not how it had happened and now she was just going with it. (Her newly awakened hormones would probably rebel and take over completely if she tried to stop this runaway train of desire anyway.)

And that meant getting poor Rex out of his armour - that she could sense was causing him intense discomfort - so that she could make him feel as good as she was.

And while she was helping him undress like they were performing a race against his brothers (she'd seen the shinies dekit and kit in races for desert rations or silly things like prime spots in the gunships) Ahsoka answered the half-heard, unspoken question that had whispered thorough her mind. "You wondered where I learned Mando'a?" she asked as she pulled off his blue pauldron and then slid off his lap so he could stand.

Rex glanced up at her as he attacked his belt with the attached kama and she continued on his upper body armour with flying hands. "Ummmm. Yeah. Specifically the word for sweetheart. I was pretty sure the boys and I had only taught you the swear words before now since Jango only ever deigned to yell swears at us as he trained us, and the Kaminoans refused to let us learn anything other than Basic in its entirety."

She giggled and tossed a bicep band onto the growing pile of white and blue plastoid armour on the floor. "Oh, you did a fine job of passing those on. But from what I've learned while living with Bo and her extended family for the last three months, I didn't call you sweetheart."

Rex paused with his hands on a knee pad and looked up at her again, his eyes wide. "You didn't?" Ahsoka attacked the fasteners on his chestplate. "Nope. I called you Rex'ika, which means Rex, my

beloved."

He blinked and then his hands were flying down his legs again. "Ooookay. But isn't that essentially the same thing? When Cody overheard the Duchess call General Kenobi Obi'ika in a very telling way, we were sure that we'd finally learned a proper endearment in what should have been our native language."

She laughed as she tossed the somewhat more flexible ab plate to the floor and dropped to her knees to help with his boots. "You poor things. You did, but no, it's not the same as sweetheart. Not really. They also call their younglings ad'ika, which means my beloved child. There is no real Mando'a word for sweetheart because they don't have a word for sweet, but the closest would probably be ner kar'ta, which means my heart."

"All right. I like that," Rex rumbled as he toed off his last boot and kicked it aside, leaving Ahsoka to look up at him. She was presented with a firsthand view of a rather impressive bulge in his black bodysuit right were his groin plate had been. It was decidedly more enthusiastic than the plate would have allowed for. Wow and Oh, my poor Rexi, fought for dominance as her next thoughts.

Her breath caught as her core found that bulge very interesting indeed. Ahsoka rose to her feet in a swift flash and she pushed him back onto the bed before he could even blink. Rex landed on his back in a whoosh of surprise, but he grinned as she pounced on top of him and settled her soaking core on top of that wonderful bulge. At the contact, she purred and he groaned in perfect counterpoint, music to her montrals.

His hands came up to hang on to her hips and grind her down on him harder as she rested hers on his broad shoulders temporarily. The sweet shocks of pleasure radiating up from her core short-circuited her thinking for about half a minute before she managed to catch her train of thought again. She leaned down and whispered in his ear as she writhed against his chest and pelvis, "You could also call me cyare, which means something that resonates with your soul, which can be anything from a favourite piece of music to a twin who thinks just like you. But if you really want to show off to your brothers, you could call me cyar'ika, which means beloved soulmate, and is not an endearment to be taken lightly. Only Mandos who are absolutely sure they've found their perfect match will use the term."

Rex stilled his subtle thrusts against her and moved his hands up to cup her face, making her meet his beautiful dark gold eyes shining with absolute love. "Cyar'ika," he whispered back, very deliberately. "Ner cyar'ika."

Ahsoka all but melted into him, her heart and soul and the Force around them literally filled with the love he felt for her and hers for him. She cupped his face in return and kissed his mouth sweetly, softly, then bit his bottom lip almost fiercely. "My mate," she growled as he gasped slightly. "My perfect, handsome, strong mate."

"Yours," he agreed before tugging her back to him and kissing her almost desperately, his tongue invading her mouth insistently and demanding that she play with him. Ahsoka was more than happy to.

She was also overheating from the nearly overwhelming amount of desire they were sharing down their new bond and couldn't stand the feel of her constricting battle clothes anymore. So she let go of Rex with her hands and started multitasking, keeping her mouth still plastered to his while she tugged off her vambraces and hand guards, then went for her belted beskar skirt that now held her precious lightsabres. As soon as those were tossed to the end of the huge bed, she pulled down the zipper that kept her thigh length, fitted tunic dress closed from collar to chest, allowing it to open enough to be pulled down her shoulders and arms and pool at her waist, leaving her upper body

clothed in only her blue, supportive compression bra that was much more functional than pretty.

Rex, finally noticing that she'd been squirming around a bit more than absolutely necessary to just drive them insane with mutual rubbing, pulled his mouth from hers and opened his eyes. She smiled and blushed a little as his eyes widened almost comically as he took in her less clothed state; he thankfully didn't seem to care that her bra wasn't see-through lace or something equally beautiful but useless in battle. She sat up on him and let him look.

His blatantly hungry gaze roamed from her collarbones to her abs and then settled on the contained orbs in between. Sensing how much he wanted to see her bare, Ahsoka undid the front clasp and shrugged out of her bra too, pushing her tense and slightly throbbing lekku back over her shoulders to a less comfortable position in the process as an extra gift.

Rex stopped breathing for a good ten seconds, every muscle under her freezing and tensing. And then he grabbed her by her messily clothed waist and pushed her back on his thighs a little so he could sit up too as he basically wheezed out, "Osik, you grew even more than I thought." His hands were then suddenly floating in the vicinity of her chest, not quite touching what he so clearly wanted to. He swallowed hard and then flicked his gaze up to hers. "Can I?" And then out loud too, because he felt like he had to make sure, which just made her love him more for his consideration of her personal space. "Please?"

"Yes," she nodded, catching his hovering hands and putting them on her suddenly aching breasts. She gasped as he squeezed them gently before measuring how perfectly the weight of them fit in his long fingered hands, the already beading burgundy nipples that matched the colour of her lips peeking out from between his thumbs and pointer fingers.

Then he was smiling like a child with a new toy as he let go with his right hand and traced the four solid white diamonds that circled her slightly paler areola in a perfect cross. (Which sent a delicious, electric shiver through her.) "I didn't know you had more markings. These are amazing!"

Ahsoka smirked and flicked her eyes down to her forearms, where her hands were gently resting on his wider and decidedly stronger looking ones just above his wrists. "I have more still."

Rex followed her gaze and then chuckled wryly as he took in the long, dual lines of white zigzags similar to her forehead marking that ran down the top of her forearms from elbow to the top of her hand and were just as obvious as the markings on her breasts. "Shows you just how narrow-sighted a male can get when you put a pair of beautiful tits in front of him," he laughed at himself.

She laughed too and then shivered as he traced a zigzag with an exploratory finger. (His left hand was still possessively attached to her breast, thumb now stroking over her nipple, the ambidextrous and clever, clever man.) "That's all right. I didn't expect much different," she teased.

His twinkling eyes looked back into hers for a second. "I still should have noticed sooner. I'm supposed to be trained to observe everything in one glance." He sighed in mock dismay and then curiosity took over. He looked down at her clothed legs speculatively where she knelt over his. "Do you have more still?"

Ahsoka lifted his chin back up with a gentle but insistent touch. When their eyes met again, she said teasingly, "I might. Do you want to find out?"

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned widely. "What kind of question is that? Are planets round? Are the B-1 droids as dumb as rocks and just as prolific? Does our fearless General crash-land nearly everything he flies? Of COURSE I want to find out!"

"Force," Ahsoka gasped, already giggling, but descending into full guffaws at the last comparison regarding her unlucky Master. Her head fell to his shoulder and he wrapped her in his arms as he chuckled along with her.

"It wasn't supposed to be that funny," he protested mildly, hands trailing up her bare back and then skimming back down her back lek.

Ahsoka stopped laughing almost instantly as another shudder of pleasure coursed through her. "Do that again," she mumbled into his bodysuit.

Rex did, humming agreeably in his throat.

She shuddered again, also noticing that her bare nipples were rubbing against his chest and that didn't help calm her rising desire at all. Good thing she didn't really want to settle down. Kriff. I want to feel his bare skin against mine. She pulled back a bit and looked into his heated eyes; the man knew exactly what he was doing to her now and she had a feeling he wasn't going to be satisfied until she was a limp noodle of blissed out Togruta by the end of this. As long as he's in the same state, then bring it on, Captain. "I'll take off the rest of mine if you take off the rest of yours," she offered before catching her lower lip in her teeth seductively like she'd seen some of the professional working girls do in various seedy bars around the galaxy.

His pupils expanded noticeably and his breath caught, and then he was nodding like a man possessed by a bobble-head doll. "Sir, yes, Sir," he gasped out after a moment or three.

She grinned and gave him a fleeting kiss just before rolling off him and onto her butt so she could deal with her boots and leg guards. By the time she had that done, Rex was already a long line of naked and eager male propped up on an elbow as he watched her with an avid gaze in her peripheral vision. She didn't let herself really look at him, though, until she'd pushed off her tunic, leggings, socks, and blue boyshort panties that matched her bra and were just as good at staying put no matter what acrobatics she performed. The massed lump of blue and grey cloth - most of it heavy armorweave like Rex's black bodysuit – hit the floor with a thump not quite as loud as her boots had made, but it was close.

And then she rolled over on her side and looked upon her mate in all his glory for the first time.

He had the most perfectly developed lithe musculature over strong bones that spoke of years of training and tireless strength, making her want to feel all of that dense weight covering her as he drove her into the mattress relentlessly. (Or held her up against a wall and made her scream his name, or even just cradled her in his arms as he kissed her senseless.) His surprisingly hairless and soft looking tan skin was scarred in more places and in more ways than one or even twenty bodies should ever have to endure, which made her want to caress him from head to toe and kiss away all of the undeserved pains. And she definitely wanted to explore his turgid male length that might as well be whimpering her name while it begged on its knees, it was so insistently pointed at her.

But what drew her the most was his adoring smile, inviting hands as they reached for her to pull her close, and the patiently eager eyes and the same feelings radiating from his Force aura, colouring him in her mind in shades of blue and gold.

Beautiful. He's beautiful.

Intrepid Rescuers (part 4)

Happy Life Day everyone! Here's a hopeful little chapter for you! (For the sake of the festive spirit, we'll pretend the eventual canon fate of our characters isn't something we already know.)

(Good thing I'm also writing a non-canon side story that branches off this one and fixes everything called 'The Conundrum'. :P)

Intrepid Rescuers (part 4):

It seemed like the Force was finally with them – or maybe it always had been, considering that they'd just saved Shaak from certain death – because when they stepped into the next turbolift they found, not only did it go all the way up to the observation deck at the very top of the dreadnaught's tower section, it also had a button on the control panel labeled 'Escape Pod Hall' and was only one up from their current position.

"Look, Master," Anakin said brightly, pointing at the control panel as they filed in. "It's like the Force heard you for once."

"Very funny," Obi-Wan said wryly. But he could not have been more relieved as he pushed the button for the next level.

Beyond the fact that Shaak needed to get off this ship and find herself some medical attention, he was also drowning in guilt for even contemplating for just a minute how exotically beautiful she was, how nice it had felt to have her lithe body clinging to his, and what it would be like if he were to perhaps kiss her lush silver lips.

It all felt like the grossest defilement of Satine's memory.

Not to mention being anything but Jedi-like.

The lift stopped only seconds after it had started and the doors opened. No one moved for an equal amount of seconds as Obi-Wan and Shaak continued to not look at each other thanks to that awkward moment of awareness where a realm of possibilities had suddenly appeared before them.

Anakin looked from one to the other and then sighed loudly, jolting the two Jedi Masters into action.

"I'll just…" Shaak started to say as she stepped out of the lift, in the most subdued tone Obi-Wan had ever heard from the usually confident Togrutan.

"Wait, I'll come with you," a remorse-filled Obi-Wan said quickly, following her.

"And I'll stay here and guard the lift," Anakin said, unmistakable mirth barely hidden in his tone and trickling down their bond.

Obi-Wan ignored him in favour of catching up with Shaak as she strode past a few escape hatches before she settled on one that she liked and pressed the button to open it. (It was probably chosen for the simple fact that it was now out of easy earshot of Anakin.)

Not knowing what possessed him, Obi-Wan climbed into the pod after her. "I'm sorry," he started

with when she stopped and gripped the back of a chair. "What happened earlier, I should not have been…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she interrupted, gaze firmly fixed on the transparisteel window that gave a more than effective view of the battle going on outside. But he doubted she was actually looking at it. He certainly wasn't. "You were right to stop what should never have started, as brief as it was."

Obi-Wan watched her faint reflection in the window. Her grey eyes looked haunted.

He felt haunted.

Satine's love and his long years of hidden devotion to her sat like a storm cloud over his heart. But at the same time, there had been a spark of connection between himself and Shaak that he'd never thought to feel again. The question is; am I really going to remain devoted to a dead woman's memory for the rest of my life? Would Satine even want me to?

As a good Jedi Master, it would make sense to do so. But when in the universe have I ever done what made sense? Falling in love with a pacifist Mandalorian? Twice. Taking on an emotional wreck of a nine year old Padawan to train against all advice to not do so? Following the teachings of a Master who was as close to a rogue Jedi as one could get? Clearly my inclination towards doing the sensible thing is flawed, so why should I stop now?

Decision made, Obi-Wan reached forward and touched her tense shoulder with cautious fingers. "Shaak." She tensed further and the reflection of her eyes closed as she turned her face even further away from him. He almost withdrew his hand, but he forged on. "I know I'm not the only one who felt something back there, and maybe… maybe I wasn't right to stop it."

She inhaled sharply and then slowly turned around. Her wide eyes were like swirling, melted beskar as she searched his, and so incredibly beautiful they stole his breath. "But that is not the Jedi way," she said in a confused tone that equalled his own state of mind.

His mouth quirked ruefully as he slid his hand down her arm and gently grasped her fingers, so slender and delicate compared to his despite the sharp nails on the tip of each. "While that is true, we all know that some of those rules are frequently bent to suit."

Her mouth quirked up in mirror of his own and she squeezed his hand. "Like Skywalker is so good at doing?"

His rueful smile grew with a wince and a shrug. "What can I say? I'm a terrible influence on the boy."

She laughed softly, which sounded like music to him, much like her melodious voice, so different from Satine's and yet containing a similar quality of calm self-assurance that ensnared him like honey. One of her fingers was now tracing his palm almost absently and sending little jolts of electricity up his arm, but he had no doubt she knew exactly what she was doing. "We all noticed."

He wasn't surprised that the rest of the Council had picked up on Anakin's excessive fondness and protective streak towards a certain senator; it was nearly impossible to miss after all. At least they haven't yelled at either of us for it... yet.

Then she raised her free hand and stroked a finger along the line of his beard. "This will be interesting," she murmured, mostly to herself.

His foolish heart nearly stopped at the implications as he recalled that Togrutans were naturally

sensual creatures - as Ahsoka had demonstrated countless times with her snuggly ways that defied traditional Jedi aloofness.

And it continued to fluctuate madly as Shaak's eyes met his with a smile filled with promise. "I will find you in the Temple after this battle is settled. We have much more to discuss regarding bending rules, I think."

He inhaled slowly and deeply as something inside him whimpered Satine's name, still struggling with the feeling that he was betraying her with just the thought of touching another woman. And he was actually doing it. But the electricity travelling up his arm and down from his cheek where Shaak was touching him, not to mention the look of guarded hope in her eyes, had him pushing that guilty feeling down to somewhere deep inside himself where he could deal with it latter. "I think so too," he finally said in a quiet murmur that felt wrenched from his roiling innards.

This time, when his hand rose to touch her face, he let it, brushing the back of his fingers across her cheek the way he'd wanted to do earlier. Her berry-red skin was indescribably soft against his own rougher textured offering, but she didn't seem to mind as her eyes closed and she leaned into his touch with a faint purr he never would have recognized if he hadn't heard Ahsoka make the same sound. (For different reasons, of course, but still the same sound.)

They stood like that - with joined hands and touching each other's faces – as she opened her eyes and they gazed at each other for a few perfectly endless moments as something in the Force and within themselves stood up and took notice of how very right this felt. He wanted to lean forward and kiss her so very badly, but he just knew that if he started, he likely wouldn't stop until Anakin came to find out what was taking so long, and there was no way he was giving the younger man the satisfaction of finding his former Master in such a position. Nope. No way in the seven Corellian hells.

Resolved, Obi-Wan reluctantly drew back from her touch. "I have to go."

She sighed softly and hugged herself as he backed away another step. "I know. May the Force be with you and help you bring a swift conclusion to this unfortunate situation."

His nod expressed a wealth of responses. "Thank you. And you as well. Be careful flying down to Coruscant, please."

Her smile expressed amusement and so much more besides. "I have a feeling I'll be landing on the planet in a much more civilized fashion than you will."

Obi-Wan huffed. "Knowing Anakin, you're probably right."

With nothing left to be said in that moment, Obi-Wan flashed her a smile filled with both anticipation and regret, and then he turned and left the pod, hitting the hatch closure on the way out. A red light on the wall indicated that the pod ejected a few seconds later.

He nearly sagged to see that she'd gotten away safely, but there was no time for that. Not to mention he could feel Anakin watching him avidly from the doorway of the lift. He determinedly straightened his spine and shoulders and then plastered on a neutral expression before turning and striding towards someone he knew was just dying to tease him.

"Not one word," he said sternly as he stepped into the elevator.

"Did I say anything?" the smirking young man said in a direct and deliberate copy of their earlier conversation while he hit the button for the highest floor of the tower.

"No," Obi-Wan reluctantly admitted. "But I can feel you thinking it."

"I wasn't thinking anything," Anakin lied with the most innocent, angelic expression ever pasted to an almost twenty-two year old's face as the lift rose swiftly up countless levels.

"Right," he drawled in disbelief. "And for both our sakes, you'll continue to not think anything."

Anakin gave him the biggest fodder-eating grin. "As you wish, Master. My brain is officially on holiday regarding anything that has to do with codes and attractions and vaunted Jedi Masters defying said codes to form attachments they shouldn't."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan sighed in defeat. Sometimes, I just can't win.

Fortunately for his sanity's sake, if nothing else, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

Past the large foyer, there was an overly large arched doorway that led into the darkly appointed observation deck. Contained on the large open floor were a handful of work stations and one black chair in front of the central window; one amongst many such windows that surrounded the entire circular room and gave a prime view of the battle outside. In a brief glance, Obi-Wan couldn't tell who was winning, seeing dead ships from both sides floating aimlessly and an equal number of shots exchanged in both red and green laser bolts.

In the chair was Chancellor Palpatine. The old man's wrists were manacled to the arms, Obi-Wan saw, as Palpatine turned the swiveling chair around to face them.

"Well, we made it to him, at least," Anakin thought down their bond as they stepped forward to embark on their task as heroic rescuers.

"True," he thought back. "But we haven't actually saved him yet. There's still Dooku and Grievous to contend with. Not to mention getting three of us off the ship with only one working Interceptor."

"Positive thoughts, Master. Positive thoughts."

"When did you become the wise one?" he thought as they walked down the balcony stairs to the main floor.

"I don't know," Anakin thought back with a mental grin that belied the serious expressions they were now sporting for Palpatine's sake. "But I can guarantee I learned it from you."

In that moment, despite how maddeningly cheeky and reckless his former Padawan could be - frequently inspiring Obi-Wan to want to gag him or tie him down to the nearest immovable surface

he couldn't have been a prouder Master as brotherly love for the boy filled him to the brim, pushing to the wayside whatever qualms he had about their mission or his future interactions with Shaak Ti.

First Step

First Step:

As the lift doors slid open, Anakin was still vastly amused by Obi-Wan's discomfort at suddenly finding himself attracted to Master Ti. He blushed for practically the whole ride up here, for kark's sake! Only the Duchess ever discombobulated him as badly as that.

Maybe with him having another girlfriend, he'll finally lay off teasing me about Padmè.

He sobered as his brain registered what was in front of him.

Palpatine!

At least he looks all right. Not beat up like Master Ti.

They even tied him to a comfy chair. How considerate.

Obi-Wan huffed in nearly silent amusement from the sarcastic thought that he must have projected. "Yes, wouldn't want to discomfit the Chancellor. That kind of thing tends to get one's prison sentence extended, I'm sure."

Now Anakin was the one huffing silently as they came to a stop in front of a very-glad-to-see-them Palpatine. Anakin could practically hear the older man think, 'You made it!'

"Chancellor," Obi-Wan said in a somewhat ironic sounding greeting, as if it was just a normal day at the office and there wasn't a massive space battle taking place just outside the windows.

Anakin went with something a little more appropriate to the situation. "Are you all right?"

His long-time friend only just started to smile his answer when they all heard an elevator door slide open behind them. Palpatine's expression turned grim and, facing the correct way to see the new arrival as he was, warned quietly, "Count Dooku."

They turned around to the sound of marching metal feet and Anakin saw his nemesis approach the railing of the balcony with a super battle droid on either side. This time, I will not lose. I can't afford to. Not anymore, Anakin thought with determination filling every atom of his being. He'd been bested by the Count too many times, and the fact was not something he was proud of. And the stakes were higher than ever, now that the Chancellor's life was on the line and he was going to be a father in a month or so. (He really wanted the war to be over by then. Really.)

It ate at his very soul and haunted his sleep that he could have ended the war on at least three previous occasions if he'd just been good enough, focused enough, to win against the old Sith Lord.

Today, though, today he was going to win. He'd been training his ass off with Obi-Wan and Rex during their spare time and he'd never been stronger or more connected to the Force. (Rex couldn't help him hone his lightsabre skills, but practicing with other weapons and hand-to-hand sparring had only given him a larger degree of versatility in his fighting style that he hoped Dooku wouldn't see coming.)

And having Obi-Wan at my side won't hurt anything either.

Proving that their connection was stronger now than it had been in the entirety of the last year, his Master said under his breath, "This time, we will do it together."

"I was about to say that," Anakin whispered back as he passed behind Obi-Wan and more squarely faced his opponent. His eyes narrowed as Dooku's gaze met his from across the large room. Bring it, old man.

Dooku actually smirked as if he was reading his mind too and did a forward flip down to the main level, completely belying his four plus decades of life and proving that he might be old, but he wasn't broken.

"Someone's feeling his Wheaties this afternoon," Obi-Wan thought in the most irreverent tone possible.

"Still not going to help him," Anakin thought back, a twitch of amusement almost ruining his serious expression.

Apparently Palpatine was impressed by the simple acrobatic that any Jedi youngling worth their rations could perform, because he said in a nearly panicked tone, "Get help! You're no match for him; he's a Sith Lord!"

Anakin and Obi-Wan glanced at each other in identical, 'Yeah right. Like that's gonna happen after everything we just went through to get this far' looks.

This was immediately followed by Obi-Wan turning and saying with a nearly epic level of sass, "Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our speciality."

Anakin suppressed what would have been an equally epic snort. "Well, that one is definitely debatable, but it's going to be true today, right?"

"Absolutely."

Anakin almost even believed the conviction in his Master's mental tone.

Meanwhile, Dooku had finally finished strolling over, looking somewhat annoyed that they hadn't immediately rushed over to meet him. Conceding that they should at least look somewhat concerned, the two Jedi shrugged out of their outer robes, letting the voluminous material sag to the floor as it may as the Count said nearly as cheekily as if he'd been taking lessons from Obi-Wan, "You're swords, please. We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor."

Another glance was exchanged with the exact same subtext as before that could be summed up in three words: As. Karking. If.

"You won't get away this time, Dooku," Obi-Wan said as they walked forward to meet his unacknowledged Grandmaster. And then his lightsabre lit with a snap-hiss and he took up a half-assed dueling stance just to show how unconcerned he was.

If that's how we're playing this, all right. Anakin lit his own blue sabre and just barely raised it in a ready stance, to look even more blasé.

Dooku was not impressed by their attitudes if the disgusted look on his face was anything to go by. His red sabre sizzled to life and then suddenly they charged at him as if they'd rehearsed it a hundred times, attacking Dooku with everything they had.

The canny 'old' man met every one of their blows with lightning fast moves and swift footwork

that somehow made Anakin feel like a youngling again, just like every other time he'd faced Dooku and lost over the last three years.

The exchange lasted maybe ten seconds.

Kark, Anakin snarled to himself as they paused to reassess and Dooku looked at them with glee sparkling in his yellow tinged dark eyes.

"The indulgent Master and his wayward Apprentice. How little things have changed," the Sith Lord mocked. "Still incompetent fools. I always look forward to schooling the two of you."

Echuta bastard! Anakin shifted a few steps to the side, tightening his grip on his lightsabre as he all but growled out, "My powers have doubled since the first time we met, Count. Today, it is I who will be giving the lesson."

Dooku only smirked. "Good. Twice the pride, double the fall."

Through their bond, he could feel that Obi-Wan was nearly seething at being mocked, so it wasn't much of a surprise when his Master was the first one to lunge at Dooku.

Anakin leapt after him only half a second later.

As their swords crossed again, Dooku continued the mockery of Obi-Wan, saying things like, "Your moves are clumsy, Kenobi, too predictable. Qui-Gon would be so disappointed." And Anakin could feel his Master caving in to his usually buried insecurities.

It didn't help anything when Dooku Force pushed Obi-Wan back to the point of falling on his arse. That tears it! Dooku's going down!

Gathering up a tiny fraction of the Cosmic Force that the Father had taught him to tap into, Anakin let it fuel his moves against Dooku as they danced up the stairs to the balcony above. He saw a flicker of surprise in the Sith's eyes at the new show of power in his swings.

As they reached the balcony, Anakin was vaguely aware of Obi-Wan taking out the super battle droids on the other staircase. And that the fall had knocked Obi-Wan back into his usual calculating mode. Good, Because hot-headed Obi-Wan just doesn't work.

In his moment of distraction, Dooku swiped at his legs, which he automatically jumped back to avoid, but that was a mistake, since he ended up on the edge of a step a few down and windmilling to keep his balance.

This left him rushing to catch up again as Dooku and Obi-Wan faced off in the center of the balcony.

But he was too late.

Dooku had his Master up in the air with a Force grip on his throat. And when he tried to swing at him, Dooku kicked him back with a Force enhanced boot to the stomach that sent Anakin flying into a wall.

His breath momentarily gone, he pushed himself up onto an arm anyway. Ow, that one's gonna leave a mark.

Kark, Obi-Wan!

Dooku had just sent his Master flying into a section of the balcony further down the wall. Obi-Wan dropped to the ground in a limp heap.

Master!

And then Dooku added insult to injury by bringing that part of the balcony down on Obi-Wan.

Anakin only had time to throw a hand out and have his power slow the fall of the balcony at the last millisecond. It was hopefully enough to save Obi-Wan from being completely crushed.

The young Knight pushed himself onto his feet and gathered more Force to himself, trying not to give into his rage, as he rushed at Dooku. This time, the man wasn't prepared, still gloating over his victory over Obi-Wan, and Anakin kicked him right over the railing.

Unfortunately, Dooku's Force skills allowed him to land on his feet like a bloody tooka.

Anakin leapt over the railing in a front flip and landed like a man on a mission. Because he was.

He swung at Dooku with more and more power behind each strike, worry for Obi-Wan and anger at Dooku fueling his strength and influencing which part of the Force he was drawing from.

As their blades locked and they both braced their feet against the other's power, Dooku did his best to discombobulate Anakin the way he'd done to Obi-Wan by saying, "I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate, you have anger, but you don't use them."

The thing was, this wasn't news to Anakin in the slightest. He'd been told from day one that he had too much fear and emotions to be a proper Jedi. So, while more or less appearing to suppress his emotions for the sake of the Masters who taught him, he'd secretly honed some of those emotions into things he could use to his benefit.

Anger, for example, was something he lived with every single day. Anger for the Hutts. Anger for the Council. Anger for the war. Even anger at Obi-Wan more often than not for not seeing his struggle with practically everything he was expected to be.

What Dooku probably expected was for Anakin to be a good little Jedi and continue to suppress his emotions or toss them into the Force like they didn't matter.

But that wasn't who Anakin really was. And for once, he let his inner demons rule as he almost viciously pushed Dooku back with strike after strike of his flashing blue lightsabre.

And Force, it felt good.

Dooku kept up for a few seconds, until suddenly he didn't. For Anakin, each millisecond was lived in its entirety as he saw everything with incredibly clear vision. He even knew three moves ahead how he was going to finally defeat the Sith Lord.

Like everything was moving in slow motion, as his now alarmed opponent became unbalanced, Anakin pinned Dooku's hands down and then brought his blade up from underneath to slice off his hands at the wrist.

This sent Dooku's lightsabre flying upwards as the man looked at his stumps in utter shock. "Now you know what that feels like, and it isn't fun, is it," Anakin thought loud and clear enough that the other man should be able to hear it. Dooku fell to his knees at the same time that Anakin caught the falling lightsabre without even looking at it. He reignited the Sith blade and then crossed red and the blue laser beams around Dooku's neck. "You are beaten, old man."

Triumph thrummed through his blood in the best possible way as Dooku looked up at him with wide eyes, all hints of the gleeful yellow long gone, buried under abject fear; an emotion Anakin was surprised to sense that Dooku was even more familiar with than he was. If Dooku is the Sith Apprentice and not the Master like we assumed, maybe that makes sense. Maybe his Master isn't very nice.

"Good, Anakin, good. I knew you could do it." Anakin had almost forgotten that the Chancellor was watching. He glanced at the friend who was smiling at him in approval, basking in the praise that only the Chancellor was inclined towards giving him, but he quickly looked back at Dooku in case the Sith had any more tricks up his… sleeves. Stars, too bad Obi-Wan wasn't awake to hear that terrible pun.

"Kill him."

What?

Dooku had the same thought, because they both looked at the Chancellor like they'd just been ordered to surrender the war.

Palpatine only smiled like this was the best idea he'd had in a long time and repeated, "Kill him now."

While Dooku looked outright bewildered, probably expecting to be taken as a prisoner so he could be tried for his crimes, Anakin was fighting with his conscience over the order from someone he respected and trusted implicitly.

But a quick death is too easy for one such as this! He needs to suffer until the end of his hopefully long life for his crimes against the galaxy!

But surely Palpatine knows what's best?

But this isn't the Jedi way! He's defeated!

"I shouldn't," he said to Palpatine, not taking his eyes off of the Sith's.

A Sith Lord (Apprentice?) who was literally pleading with him to spare him. "Please don't. Please don't. You don't understand what this will mean!"

Anakin had a good idea that he'd have one more face to add to his nightmares, but what was one more amongst all the other's that he'd murdered over the years? Other than that, he didn't see how the death of one Sith could make anything any worse than it already was. It should help end the war sooner, at least.

With that rationale in his mind, when Palpatine sternly said, "Do it!" Anakin did.

The Count's eyes were still comically wide when his head hit the metal floor with a sickening thud a full two seconds before his body slumped down after it.

Anakin stared at the body in disbelief as all of his previous triumph suddenly just felt like a scream of misery from the Force. What have I done?

And why does this image look familiar?

Captain's Turn (part 1)

Captain's Turn (part 1):

Beautiful. She's so stars-blessed beautiful.

Rex couldn't have peeled his eyes from Ahsoka's lithe and vibrant form even if the ship was disintegrating around them. She was absolute perfection to him. There wasn't a single thing about her that didn't turn him on. It was like she'd been made from his fantasies and brought to life. And thus, every piece of her was worshipped by his gaze as she finished undressing.

He loved her adorable star topped montrals. The satin soft but strong blue stripped lekku that responded so well to his caresses. The beautiful markings on her face that emphasized features that would be the envy of any model's. Her big sky blue eyes that boasted the only hairs on her body in the form of fanlike eyelashes that brushed her cheekbones so becomingly when she closed those eyes. Her cute little nose that invited playful kisses. Those plush burgundy lips that had driven him mad for years. Her athletic build that didn't take away from the curves of womanhood. The new markings for him to adore on her chest, arms, and… yep, shins, thighs, and, holy stars, even nexu stripping on her perfect ass, just like she'd teased. By the time he looked all the way down to her cute little toes, he realized that at least a third of her skin was stark white instead of brilliant orange. Add a tail and he might even believe that she was part tooka.

Shab, I can't wait to kiss every one of those marks.

Once she turned fully back towards him, the last of her clothes tossed to the floor, they just looked at each other for a minute of silent mutual gawking. And then Rex was reaching for her. "Come here, my gorgeous girl," he rumbled.

"Always," she whispered back and then she was tumbling forward into his arms with enough momentum to roll him over onto his back. Hugging her tight to his chest, Rex thrilled at the feel of her pointed nipples rubbing against his bare skin as their mouths fused once again in heated passion.

Her mouth tasted so kriffing amazing, like a blend of candy and spice like he rarely got to enjoy as a soldier (and most of those times were because Ahsoka had smuggled in a treat for him on the sly), and came with just enough danger in the form of her sharp little teeth to make the exploration of her mouth an adrenaline filled adventure. Despite the throbbing in his groin, all he wanted to do in that moment was kiss her endlessly. The way her velvet tongue stroked along his as she literally purred into his mouth was seriously messing with his ability to think.

So perhaps it was a good thing when she pulled away a bit and gave him a glorious smile. "I knew you would be just as good at this as everything else you do, Rexi," she praised with strong arms hugging his neck and fingers stroking over his fuzzy scalp.

Feeling like he'd just passed ARC training all over again, Rex flushed at the compliment. "Easy to do when I have you for inspiration. I just want to make this good for you."

Ahsoka smiled softly, her gaze warm and caressing as she looked at him. "You've done that and more." She pushed herself back a bit further and looked down the length of his body before returning to his face, her eyes now sparkling wickedly. "And as I was saying before, it's your turn to feel better than good."

Oh kriff. "Uhhhhh. Okay?" Rex honestly had no idea how she wanted to proceed to make that happen. But he did have a few ideas of how he'd like for it to go. Even though he knew it was unrealistic at this stage of their budding relationship, burying his eager cock in her pussy was definitely at the top of his list.

Realistically, though, she could probably just pet other parts of his body or breathe on him for a minute and he'd still come like a geyser; he'd been ramped up for so long.

Gulping at the thought of doing something so cadet-like, Rex vowed to not embarrass himself quite that badly.

"How do you want to…" His words faded away as she giggled and pressed a teasing kiss to his mouth.

"Just lie there and enjoy," Ahsoka said, grinning. "I've seen enough in the lower levels of Coruscant and in all those seedy bars Anakin kept dragging me into to find the bad guys that I think I know how to make this good for you."

Having also frequented many of the same places, Rex had a fairly good idea of the type of education Ahsoka had gotten and he practically trembled in anticipation at even the hint of it. Those lips wrapped around me will definitely be my undoing, I swear.

At least that's a respectable way to go.

"Can I touch you while you're, uhhhhh, working?" Please, oh, please, he thought loud enough there was no way she didn't hear it through their new Force bond. (Which he was mostly doing a mental happy dance over because it was just one more way to be connected to her. The mind reading thing was going to take some getting used to, though.)

Ahsoka pursed her lips, seriously thinking about it, and then shook her head, sending her lekku swinging across her round breasts in the most hypnotic way that almost distracted from the dashing of his hopes to trace those intriguing white marks on the figurative rocks. Almost. "No. I don't think so. You're too good at blowing my mind with your hands. I don't want to accidentally bite you."

Even as he mentally winced at the painful possibility, he beamed at the praise and shrugged slightly. "It would be worth it."

She snorted softly. "I doubt it. I want your impressive manhood in working order, not bleeding all over this really nice bed."

He sighed mournfully, only half joking. "Fine."

"Good boy." Ahsoka kissed his cheek. "Now, put your hands behind your head so you don't forget."

"Sir, yes, Sir," Rex grumbled as he reluctantly removed his hands from her narrow waist, where they'd fallen to when she sat up, and linked his fingers behind his head, as ordered.

Her approving and appreciative look as she scanned his suddenly more defined shoulder and chest muscles made it worth it. Again, almost.

"Mmmmmm. You are one fine male, Commander Rex," she purred as her fingers trailed down his neck and along his arms.

He blinked. He'd nearly forgotten that he was an official Commander now. But after all these years, the title didn't sound right. Especially coming from the girl who'd only ever known him as a Captain and had called him as such with clear affection for so long. "Can… When we're alone, anyway… Can you still call me Captain?"

Ahsoka's eyes shot back to his and a look of understanding settled on her beautiful face as she searched his eyes. "Of course. You'll always be my Captain Rex even if you were to become the first clone to gain the rank of General. Which you deserve way more than us Force Users, by the way."

Rex unlinked his hands to cup her cheek with one. "Thank you, my cyar'ika. You've always understood me better than anyone else."

She snuggled her face into his palm, eyes half closing, before she kissed it and smiled a little ruefully at him. "And now I know why. I can't believe it took me so long to see that you were my mate."

Rex ran his hand along a lek once before he returned it dutifully back to behind his head. "I have a theory about that."

A little rumble of a purr echoed from her throat as she leaned down again to kiss his jaw. "And what is that?"

"You weren't ready to have a mate yet until you'd been on your own for a while, so the instinct stayed dormant."

Ahsoka flicked her eyes to him as she nibbled on his jaw delightfully. "That… is actually very likely the right answer. As long as I thought of myself as a Jedi, I doubt I would have ever done anything with you to trigger it. But then again, I think you and I were fated from the start, so I probably would have ended up kissing you just like this sooner or later."

Since she was now feathering kisses across his earlobe as she finished her sentence, Rex could see how it might possibly happen… IF she was high on pain meds after an injury or something as he carried her to safety like a hero. Personally, he was happy she didn't have to get physically hurt to get to this point. But on the other hand, she did go through mental anguish when the High Council kicked her out of the Order. In the end, I think that was probably worse.

Pushing the depressing thought out of his mind, Rex summoned a smile as his arm muscles flexed with the clenching of his hands at the shivers running through him. "After I got over the shock, I can guarentee that I would have lost all semblance of control if you did this to me for longer than a minute."

She laughed softly in his ear, sending more shivers through him, and then bit it ever so gently. "You'll just have to hang on to that control for now, Rex'ika, because I have so much more in store for you."

"Oh, Force," he moaned, straining cock twitching and leaking at the stimulation. Control. Control. Control. Find some shabla control! She's just getting started!

Ahsoka laughed huskily again as she moved her kisses down to his shoulder. "Easy there, my Captain. There's so much of you that I've never seen before that I'm determined to explore." Her hands caressed a corded bicep. "Like this. Such a shame to keep you covered up all the time. Your body is a work of art."

"Thanks," he gasped out, eyes all but rolling up into his head just from having her fingers touching his skin so carefully.

Then she was tickling his exposed armpit, making him shudder slightly with pleasure. "Funny. I could have sworn that Humans had hair here. That would have been intriguing to play with."

"We do," Rex said in a tone slightly higher pitched than normal as her caressing fingers moved down to his pecs and small nipples. "Or, well, real Humans do if the Generals are anything to go by." (He'd seen them training shirtless a few times when stuck on a hot planet for an extended campaign.) "But the longnecks were unimpressed with unnecessary hair that would just cause rashes and itching under our armour, so they engineered us without it. Us clones consider ourselves lucky they left us with everything that normally grows from the neck up."

"Hunh," Ahsoka said with a raised eyebrow marking, her fingers circling his nipples curiously and making it very hard for him to not squirm. "I guess that makes sense. At least I can pet your head." She shot him a teasing look which told him what she was about to say wasn't meant to be taken seriously. "If you really wanted to please me, you could grow your hair out long like Anakin's. It looks really pretty and very pettable."

Rex snorted loudly. "Yeah right. Can you just imagine me with long curls like that? My brothers would never stop laughing long enough to shoot a tinny. I don't kriffing think so."

She shrugged, giggling. "It was worth a try. I'll just have to pet Anakin's head whenever I get the chance."

He sucked in a breath as she licked his nipple and then somehow managed to answer, "You do that. I'm sure he's used to it."

Ahsoka paused as she made her way down to his abs and looked up at him by resting her chin on him. "You mean Padmè, don't you?"

"Who else does he comm every day and go insane worrying over at least every other week?"

Ahsoka huffed softly in agreement, hands tracing his abdominal six pack again as her lush lips followed. (He was eagerly waiting for her to go even lower, but was kind of grateful for the delaying conversation that was helping him maintain a semblance of sanity and control.) "No one that I know of. My Master is terrible at hiding his feelings. If he wasn't the Chosen One, he would have been kicked out of the Order long ago, I'm sure."

"Well, I'm glad they weren't that stupid. Aside from maybe Generals Kenobi, Secura, and Koon, Anakin is the best leader any of us clones could ask for. And I know for a fact that no other General fights harder to keep us alive than him." He paused for a second, and then added with a slightly rougher voice as emotions choked him, "And you, when you were fighting with us."

Looking like she was melting with as many feelings as he was, Ahsoka kissed the center of his chest as she hugged his waist. "I'm sorry I left you, Rexi. But at least you had Anakin. He really is a good man. I think he deserves to love whoever he wants without consequences. I almost asked him to leave the Order with me when I did, but then I thought of you and the boys and I knew I couldn't take him away from you too. Not while there's a war to fight and your future is uncertain after that. But I hope that one day he can be free for the first time in his life and just live."

Her breath caught and a shimmer reflected in her eyes as her arms hugged him tighter. "And that goes for you and your brothers too. I want all of you to be free."

Needing to touch her, he moved his hands and reached down to pull her negligible weight up his body. He then cupped her face and kissed her sweetly with every ounce of love he had. As he stroked the winged markings on her cheeks, he then said softly, "And that's one of the many reasons that I love you; you care about us. Actually care. How your wonderful heart has room in it for so many, I'll never know, but it does and that's why my brothers and I would gladly die for you if it meant that you lived even one more minute."

He hadn't meant to make her cry, but now she was, little drops of moisture tricking down her face and catching on his thumbs. "Force, Rex," she whispered, cupping his face in return. "I know you were trained to think that you have to protect me, but it hurts even more every time I hear it. I don't want to lose you or your brothers any more than you want to lose me. I wasn't whole without you."

Now his eyes were filling with moisture that he had to blink determinedly back. "Soka…"

She kissed him silent.

Her lips were damp from her tears and that only made his struggle to not cry too harder.

And then they just clung to each other for a few minutes, foreheads resting together as they pulled their emotions back together.

Just as Rex felt like he could maybe talk again without choking on the words, she beat him to it, her tone soft and tentative. "Rexi?"

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't going to ask yet, but now I can't stop thinking about it… I couldn't help but notice that Fives wasn't in the meeting earlier. Is he on another assignment? Or did he go with Anakin?"

Kark. He swallowed hard before shaking his head slowly. "I'm sorry, Ahsoka, we lost him."

The pain in her eyes as she stared at him in stunned shock made his own heart hurt even worse. Then she buried her face in his neck as she hugged him tighter than was comfortable, but he didn't care. He needed it too. "I'm so sorry, Rexi," she mumbled into his skin. "I should have been there. Maybe I could have saved him."

He rubbed her back and stroked her thicker lek in the soothing motion he knew she liked. "No, Soka, I don't think you could have. It wasn't on the battlefield."

She looked up at him in a sudden motion of wide eyes. "What? How then?"

Rex had to stop his hands from clenching into fists as the memory of Fox gunning down one of the very few brothers he'd allowed himself to truly become attached to flashed through his mind. "I… I can't talk about it right now. Just know that I'm sure there was nothing you could have done. It was a tragic set of unfortunate events that spiralled out of control and has since been brushed under the proverbial rug by everyone involved. Fives didn't deserve to die."

"Oh, Rex," she whispered. "All of your friends keep leaving you."

He summoned up a brave smile, just to help her feel better. "Yeah, that sucks bantha poodoo, but at least I have you back, so things are looking up." His smile grew into something a little more genuine as another thought struck him. "Oh! And we found Echo alive!" Most of him, anyway.

She sat up, basically pulling him with her, as her eyes widened to massive proportions. "What?! Really?! That's great! How?!"

Now this story, he was ready to tell.

So he did.

Divided Loyalties

Divided Loyalties:

As Anakin stared down at Dooku's body, the feeling of wrongness intensified. Why that would be so, he had no idea, but he found himself thinking, I shouldn't have done that.

"You did well, Anakin." With Palpatine's praise, Anakin forced himself to stop looking at the dead Count. He dropped the Sith lightsabre that hissed unpleasantly in the back of his mind and clutched his own like an anchor for his sanity as he turned towards the Chancellor. The man's further words of reassurance helped ease the feeling of wrongness only slightly. "He was too dangerous to be kept alive. Believe me, the galaxy will be a much better place without him."

Anakin walked up to Palpatine, unlocking the manacles holding him to the chair as he did so with a simple flick of the Force. "Yes, but he was an unarmed prisoner." Kark! Another bad pun! Why isn't Obi-Wan awake to groan at them with me? "I shouldn't have done that. It's not the Jedi way." Obi-Wan's gonna kill me when he wakes up! And the Council! I don't even want to think about what the Council will say!

Palpatine rose to his feet, surprisingly smoothly for someone with old bones who must have been sitting there for hours, and rubbed at his wrists where the electrified binders had left faint marks. "It's only natural. He cut off your arm… You wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time."

Well… yes… but also no. I got my revenge cutting off his hands. I didn't feel driven to do more. "No." Anakin shook his head once. "It wasn't… like that this time."

Palpatine gave him a look as if he thought he was lying. "Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother… and the Sand People? Besides, he was threatening the life of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic."

Anakin inhaled slowly, trying to sort out his emotions but failing to finding peace with anything (as usual). But to appease his friend, he simply said, "I suppose."

Palpatine touched his shoulder reassuringly. "Should there be an inquiry, I shall vouch for your bravery, worry not." He flashed a smile and then brushed past Anakin. "Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive."

The young Knight turned and quickly caught up to the Chancellor. As he stepped off the short dais, he finally hooked his lightsabre to his belt despite how much he'd rather just hold it. But he didn't want to look clingy to Palpatine (who'd once mentioned that he thought the Jedi were too reliant on their lightsabres when the Force was supposed to have so much more to offer than just the ability to control a lethal laser beam), so... on the belt it went. Looking up, he saw Obi-Wan still unconscious on the floor with the collapsed balcony still half covering his legs. Master!

Anakin ran to Obi-Wan's side as Palpatine continued towards the stairs that led up to the elevators. With a quick shove of the Force, he pushed the balcony back far enough to free Obi-Wan and then rolled him over onto his back. He was relieved to see Obi-Wan's chest rise and fall as he took a breath even though he already knew he wasn't dead; their bond was still strong if a little quiet right now. He was more concerned about the other man's legs, though, worried that they may have gotten crushed despite all his efforts to save him.

"Anakin." He looked up at his name and saw the Chancellor paused half on the first step. "There's

no time. We must get off this ship before it's too late."

As if to confirm Palpatine's words, the deck under his knee shook with more far-off explosions.

Regardless, Anakin wasn't leaving a loved one behind. Ever. Not if he could help it. "He seems to be all right," he protested. Whether he'll be able to walk when he wakes up is a little sketchy, but we'll ignore that for now.

Palpatine gave him a stern look. "Leave him, or we'll never make it."

Anakin was more than a little shocked at the Chancellor's callous disregard for one of the Republic's best warriors. And there's no way in any hell I'm leaving Obi-Wan here! His expression reflected that thought as he glared at Palpatine. "His fate will be the same as ours," he vowed. Either we're all getting off this ship or none of us are.

Palpatine only looked resigned. Ignoring the sense of wrongness that continued to follow him, Anakin picked up the man who meant so much to him and slung him over his shoulders like a new-born bantha calf. (And didn't that bring back memories from his childhood on Tatooine that he'd rather not remember.) Staggering only slightly under Obi-Wan's deadweight until he found his footing, he rose and made for the stairs with grim determination.

Palpatine shook his head, a reluctant smile carving his face into different lines. "As stubborn as ever, my young friend."

He flashed the old man a grin. "You know me, if I can't do things the hard way, why bother?"

This brought a chuckle from Palpatine as they made it to the central elevator. Both of their expressions fell into 'uh oh' mode as they noticed that none of the indicator lights were lit on any of the panels. The power was out.

"Elevator's not working," Anakin grumbled. "That's just kriffing great." "Can you fix it?"

The dreadnaught rocked with more explosions. Anakin glanced outside to see a Republic Venator bombarding it. There was possibly even two of them if the contradictory rocking of the ship was any indication. Anakin grimaced. "Not fast enough to do any good. But…" Shifting his grip on Obi-Wan to free up his left hand, Anakin dug in his belt until he found his commlink and prayed to the Force that it worked for once. "Artoo?"

"Master!" the droid beeped back immediately. "You're still functioning!"

The droid's unfailing loyalty brought a flicker of a smile to his lips. "Yes. For now." The decking shook alarmingly again. "Artoo, activate elevator 3224."

"Okay! I will do right away!"

Anakin pocketed his comm and smiled at Palpatine. "There, see, nothing to worry about. We'll be out of here in…"

BOOOOOOOOM!

I really need to learn to stop asking the Force to laugh at me and prove me wrong, Anakin thought as the deck beneath them started to tilt backwards. In a desperate bid to not fly backwards into the observation area and crash into the transparisteel windows, he wrenched the elevator doors open

with the Force and surged for the opening. Obi-Wan's limp body made him awkward, but Anakin managed to catch the edge of the door frame with one hand and pull himself into the elevator shaft.

Fortunately, Palpatine had managed to do the same thing.

As the previously vertical shaft finished it's horizontal alignment, indicating the cruiser was being pulled into Coruscant's gravity well in a sharp nose dive, they gained their feet and looked at each other. "What now?" the Chancellor asked with wide eyes, looking helpless.

"Run," Anakin advised only half a second before he was doing exactly that, clinging to Obi-Wan's arm and leg to hold him steady on his shoulders. He went as fast as he thought Palpatine could keep up with as he made for the lower decks.

They'd only been running for maybe twenty seconds when the shaft started to quickly reorient itself back into a vertical configuration. Oh poodoo!

One second, Anakin was running. The next, he was sliding on his side and front, protecting Obi-Wan as best as he could. The burn was definitely unpleasant, but so far down on his list of concerns at the moment, the Knight barely felt it. Palpatine grabbed his leg in a perfect example of a coward's helplessness, but Anakin didn't blame him for it; the Chancellor was old and feeble after all and it was Anakin's duty to protect him.

As he slid, Anakin started looking for something to grab to stop their fall.

A small electrical cable was the lucky victim.

Letting go of Obi-Wan's leg, his mechanical hand flashed up and snatched the cable and clenched tight.

The sudden combined weight of the three of them on his mechanical arm partially tore it away from where it joined his skin, muscles, and nerve endings right below the elbow. It was agonizing, but the prosthetic held. He just wasn't sure for how long. This is like when Obi-Wan and I were chained to Dooku and tried to vault Hondo's perimeter wall, but sooooo much worse.

To make matters even more worrisome, Anakin's left hand was also slowly starting to lose its grip on Obi-Wan's sleeve as the (somehow still working) artificial gravity in the ship did it's job too well. And that just wasn't acceptable. So he gathered the Force around Obi-Wan in preparation and then with a wince, he let go of his Master so that he could catch him immediately with a Force grip. Obi-Wan ended up somewhat upside-down, but at least Anakin had a better hold of him and it took a lot of the stress off his mech arm.

But he wouldn't be able to hold him this way for very long either. The day had just been too long and Anakin was having a hard time concentrating through the pain in his arm.

"Obi-Wan!" he yelled down their bond at the same time as he pushed what little Force energy he could spare through it. "Wake up! Wake up now!" Anakin rejoiced when he felt a flicker of awareness through their bond. "Come ON, Master! Time to wake the kark up!"

"Stop yelling, Ani," Obi-Wan blearily replied. "Surely lightsabre training can wait until after I've had my morning tea?"

If the situation wasn't so dire, Anakin would have laughed at the confused state of his former Master. (Was I really that bad when I was little?) But it was, so Anakin's reply was still a little curt. "No! Now open your eyes and climb up here or something before I drop you!"

"What?!"

Good Souls

Good Souls:

At his former Padawan's alarming sentence, Obi-Wan did as was suggested (ok, emphatically ordered) and blinked his eyes open only to gasp in quickly suppressed fear.

Not fast enough, though, if Anakin's, "Easy. We're in a bit of a situation here," was anything to go by.

A bit of a situation was an understatement in Obi-Wan's opinion. The view of a seemingly endless elevator shaft below him was not something he'd ever like to see again and definitely left him feeling nauseous. The blue, red, and white lights hung at equal intervals around the shaft seemed to spin dizzyingly, making it hard to judge just how far down they went. And then there was Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, also in his line-of-sight and clinging to the ankle of a shiny black boot and looking absolutely terrified as their eyes met. Obi-Wan could sympathize.

And even worse, Obi-Wan realized the only thing preventing him from falling down into that blurry abyss was someone (presumably Anakin) holding him with the Force, the pressure on his bones unmistakable but alarmingly shaky every few moments.

With some effort against the Force hold keeping him still, the bleary Jedi Master bent his neck so that he could look upwards. And thus meet Anakin eyes, his young face creased into lines of pain and effort. Oh dear.

"Exactly." Anakin grumbled back into his mind.

In a move that was more desperate than well executed, Anakin spun Obi-Wan around in his Force hold at the same time that Obi-Wan grabbed for the younger man's chest and shoulders, hanging on tighter than was probably necessary. Anakin grunted as he was holding three men's worth of weight again on his… ugh, that's bad… prosthetic arm. From his current position, Obi-Wan didn't see a way to take the pressure off of it either – the small electrical cable Anakin was grasping left no room for another hand and there were no nearby places in the walls of the shaft other than tiny nooks for him to cling to without dropping down. And Obi-Wan wasn't keen on either idea. On the other hand, it was a miracle the cable and the prosthetic arm was still holding all of their weight. "Are you going to be okay like this?"

"Don't really have a choice," Anakin replied, even his mental voice sounding strained.

Obi-Wan grimaced in sympathy as he tried to figure out how they'd gotten themselves in such a horrid situation. The last thing he remembered was fighting Dooku on the upper platform of the Observation Deck. Trying to remember what happened after that only made him aware of a throbbing headache that originated from the vicinity of his right temple and a very concerning tingling in both of his legs. Bloody hell.

Obi-Wan readjusted his grip on Anakin as he felt himself start to slide downwards again.

"Soooooo, what did I miss?" He tried to sound jovial about it.

Anakin's answering huff said he failed. "Oh, not much. Just the usual."

Which meant everything had gone shebs-side up, like always.

From below them, somehow still hanging off of poor Anakin's leg (boy, was he ever going to feel

that tomorrow!) Palpatine made a moaning sound to back up that theory.

Obi-Wan decided that now was not the right time to ask about how it went with Dooku. Based on past history, his traitorous Grandmaster had undoubtedly escaped and Anakin likely would rather not admit that he'd failed in capturing him. Again.

The good news (if you could call their current situation of hanging for their lives good news) was that Anakin had managed to rescue the Chancellor and his unconscious self.

And he was slipping again and having to fix his grip again. "Hold on!" Anakin berated him as he used his free left hand to help prop Obi-Wan's apparently weak arms.

A rumbling, rattling noise from above drew their attention upwards. "What is that?" Obi-Wan asked only a fraction of a second before Anakin said, "Ahhhhh, Ooops."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened as his question was answered and the noise became louder as an elevator car descended rapidly into view.

"Oh kark!" Anakin thought very loudly as he grabbed for his comm with Jedi speed. "Artoo! Artoo! Shut down the elevator!"

Obi-Wan appreciated the irony of asking the astromech to stop a lift instead of start it, he really did, but… "No time! Jump!" he commanded.

Realizing he was right, Anakin and the Chancellor did, both letting go and all three of them sliding down the wall of the not quite vertical shaft at a rate that didn't even come close to matching the speeding elevator that was out to kill them.

They weren't going to make it to the bottom of the shaft before the elevator flattened them on its way by.

Anakin was more than clever enough to figure this out as well, judging by his somewhat panicked, "Master!?"

Fortunately for them, Obi-Wan had spent a good deal of time climbing up and down elevator shafts over the course of the war and even during his Padawan days with Qui-Gon, mostly for reasons he'd rather not think about. (Though, there was that one time he got to carry Satine up an elevator shaft with her clinging to his back while they made an escape from yet another group of bounty hunters out to kill her - now that one was worth remembering.) This meant that he knew there had to be some cross-bracing somewhere, likely above an entrance to a utility tunnel or something like that.

His inherent sense of 'knowing' things thanks to his connection to the Force told him that they would pass something appropriate in only a few seconds. "Grappling hook!" he told Anakin via their bond, talking about something that was standard in all Jedi's utility belts now, thanks to the war.

They slid past the cross beam he was looking for, sitting on the far side of the shaft, just like the Force had told him there would be. "There!"

Obi-Wan was relieved to see Anakin throw his hook at the same time he did. "Now we just need a handy lift door to be open and for the Chancellor to somehow attach himself to one of us again so we can chuck him through as well!"

"I got the door!" Anakin said, closing his eyes and holding the hand not taking care of the

grappling cable out and down.

I suppose that leaves me with the clingy Chancellor, Obi-Wan thought wryly. He held his free hand out as well and grabbed Palpatine with the Force, slowing the older man's descent enough so that he could latch on to Obi-Wan's boot, which was now all but in his face. Fortunately Palpatine got the idea just in time as they reached the end of their lines and the door that Anakin had opened in the correct location. (The Chosen One always had been good at judging distances. One of the reasons he was such an outstanding pilot.)

Using their momentum, a bit of a Force push, and the jerk of their bodies from hitting the end of the grappling line, Obi-Wan threw Palpatine and then himself through the open doorway and into the realm of relative safety only one quarter second before the elevator whizzed past the same doorway.

Half a second later, the out-of-control elevator car crashed into the bottom of the shaft with a horrific boom that shook their floor and sent a concussion blast back up the shaft that ruffled their hair on the way by.

"That was too close!" Obi-Wan thought from his prone position on the floor beside Anakin and Palpatine. There hadn't been time to land with anything resembling grace, so he'd hit the floor hard, skidding on his back a little before his already sore head had hit the floor too with a painful thump that only worsened when the floor shook under it at nearly the same time.

He was still squeezing his eyes closed and willing the pain away when Anakin answered with a hint of humour in his tone. "Might even be our closest save yet, Master."

"Unfortunately, one save of way too many, my dear one."

From his position on the floor, head more or less buried in Obi-Wan's chest, Anakin snorted in skeptical amusement at the old endearment that Obi-Wan hadn't used in something like a decade. He also sounded like he was trying to talk his lungs into remembering how to breathe properly after having the wind stolen from them, much like Obi-Wan was currently doing. "Well, you know us... If we're not on the verge of dying, then we're not doing it right."

"Ugh. It pains me to admit that you're probably right." Deciding that lying on the floor for the next hour while he properly recovered wasn't an option, Obi-Wan brushed Anakin on the shoulder fondly before he forced his (thankfully no longer tingling) legs to fold underneath him and bear his weight as he pushed himself off the floor with his hands. He stared at the empty elevator shaft for a second and couldn't help the small shudder that shook him. That's definitely going to be added to my many nightmares, no question.

"Probably mine too," Anakin added as he climbed onto his feet as well. Even the old Chancellor was managing to sit up.

They both glared at the elevator door for half a moment in silent commiseration, Obi-Wan barely braced upright as things still swam around a little thanks to too many head injuries and legs that were definitely protesting his weight. It felt like he'd been hit by a speeder from the upper thigh down.

"You going to make it out of here, Obi-Wan, or do you want me to carry you again?"

The elder Jedi scoffed. "Don't even try it. I'll be fine."

"Uh hunh," Anakin thought back with full sarcasm as both of them ignored the hand that Palpatine

put out, expecting help up off the floor. (Obi-Wan was kind of surprised that Anakin didn't jump to assist his friend, but maybe he was finally getting disillusioned with the man responsible for keeping him away from his wife for five months straight and pulling him away from Ahsoka only an hour after he finally got to see her again.)

"Hush, bratling. How's your arm?" Turnabout was fair play, after all.

Anakin shot him a look, flexing the gloved metal fingers on his right hand slower than normal, accompanied by a quickly hidden grimace. "It'll be fine."

"Un hunh." Obi-Wan gave back the same disbelieving tone that had been used on him. "You are definitely seeing a healer as soon as we get back to the Temple."

"Fine. Then so are you."

"Fine," Obi-Wan grumbled good-naturedly, hurting enough that a short stay in the Halls of Healing actually sounded nice for once. Maybe I'll even see the beautiful Shaak there. That would be… something. Obi-Wan gave himself a mental shake as Anakin smirked at him, resolving to work on rebuilding his shields… later. "But first… Back to business. Considering that the Chancellor has finally managed to find his feet." Pretending that they hadn't just spent the last five seconds talking in their heads and ignoring the old man, Obi-Wan continued as if absolutely nothing was physically wrong with either himself or Anakin, "Let's see if we can find something in the closest hangar bay that's still flyable."

Following his lead, Anakin grabbed his comm again. "Artoo, get down here." The droid replied almost immediately. "Okay, where are you?"

Anakin looked around until he found a marking on the wall. "Level three." Obi-Wan shared a grimace with Anakin and Palpatine as they realized just how close to being crushed they really had been.

"Okay. I'll find you," Artoo beeped.

"Good droid, that R2 unit," Palpatine said as they started power walking away from the elevator bank in an unspoken communal decision that moving was much more productive than staying put. "He's been of great assistance to you many times that I recall."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. Somehow, he's always encouraging Anakin's attachments. Not that I'm much better. I think 'enabler' would be an appropriate term for what I let him get away with all these years. Don't know how many times Yoda or Windu scolded me about teaching him better.

Anakin grinned at the Chancellor, ignoring Obi-Wan's mental grumbling. "I know, right? He's definitely one of a kind."

"There's literally thousands of R2's just like him in the same colour and everything," Obi-Wan couldn't help saying snarkily. (Maybe the head injuries had broken his filter.)

Anakin gave him a truly betrayed look that made Obi-Wan instantly regret his words. "That may be so, but they don't have the same brave and cheeky soul."

Obi-Wan wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose in an effort to settle down the throbbing in his head, but he didn't want to show that kind of weakness in front of the Chancellor. He did sigh heavily, though, and decided to start something that would help keep his mind off how much his head and legs hurt. "Anakin… I'm sure we've talked about this before. Droids don't have souls.

They aren't living beings. Just programming and learnt personalities."

Anakin pouted. There was no other term for the way his bottom lip stuck out. Obi-Wan would have to be touched in the head to find it adorable…. Oh right. He was.

"And I disagree," the beloved bane of his existence said petulantly. "Droids learn and adapt. They have feelings. They care. They're loyal if you are. To me, that makes them more worthy of a soul than half the so-called intelligent beings in the galaxy."

"I will grant you that last point," Obi-Wan said, feeling Palpatine's interested gaze bounce between himself and Anakin like he was watching a sporting event. It was more than a little unsettling for reasons Obi-Wan didn't really understand. "But… droids don't have Force signatures nor any midi-chlorians, which means that they can't have souls to return to the Force when they stop functioning."

Anakin made a frustrated sound as he turned around in the deserted hallway and walked backwards so that he could glare at Obi-Wan dead on. The entertained Jedi Master helpfully slowed down to a more sedate walk. "Surely not every single thing in the universe has to fall under the category of 'has the Force or doesn't'? What if there's a galaxy or twenty out there that our Force doesn't touch? Would you call all the beings in those galaxies soulless as well?"

Obi-Wan blinked at his former student. "I'm impressed. You've gotten much better at debating."

Anakin's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly, but he didn't let up on his glare. They were having way too much fun performing for their captive audience for that. "Blame Padmè."

Obi-Wan laughed in his mind, but kept his expression stern out of long practice. "If you really believed that droids had souls, then how come you have such an easy time dissecting them in battle and whenever you feel like tinkering on one?"

"That's different! The battle droids are trying to kill me first and the ones I 'tinker' on are being fixed, the same as us going to the healers!"

"Hmmmmm." Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "All right. Answer me this, then, oh clever one. If the B1 battle droids have souls – which I seriously doubt, because, Force are they ever dumb – why have I never seen you mourning them the way I saw you do when we had to put down that pack of rabid wild charhounds when they interrupted our scouting mission on Ephrona last year? Animals have midi-chlorians but they've never been described as having intelligent souls like you're giving to droids. What makes dirty, slavering, killer animals more worthy of your sorrow over droids that can arguably hold a conversation and only kill because they've been commanded to?"

Obi-Wan knew he had officially stumped his former Padawan by the multiple expressions that crossed Anakin's face as he opened and closed his mouth like a landed fish for a solid ten seconds while he tried to come up with a good answer. He even started looking around him, as if the monotonous grey walls and bulkheads would provide a proper comeback.

And then, for a moment, Obi-Wan thought Anakin had finally had a breakthrough, because his expression settled into one of triumph. The words that followed quickly disabused that idea, however. "Oh, look! There's a hangar down that way!"

Obi-Wan laughed as Anakin all but bolted down a connecting hallway, spotting the marking and arrow on the wall that the younger Jedi had seen. "You can run, but I still win!" Obi-Wan called cheerfully as he followed at a somewhat slower pace, earning a breathless chuckle from Palpatine

and a mental, "Kark!" from Anakin.

Captain's Turn (part 2)

A/N: I'm laughing right now, because in my quest to see if clones actually have belly buttons, I watched 'The Deserter' where Rex got shot and is bare-chested for a bit. I'm pretty sure I saw the shadow of a belly button at one point, but I'm dying right now because he doesn't have nipples and I never noticed before! I'm going to assume that this was done for the sake of not wanting to scandalize children (or something equally stupid considering the revealing outfits some of the girls wear and all the gruesome deaths) and Rex is keeping his nipples in my story. :P

Captain's Turn (part 2):

As Ahsoka listened to Rex's husky voice tell the story of how they found Echo, she started exploring his fascinating body again with her mouth and fingers. (Starting at the top again, just because that's where she already was.)

Which had the interesting and very amusing result of making his words catch and his tone rise an octave at random.

"So, a few weeks ago, we'd been dealing with a neverending string of sieges in the Outer Rim for months when the Council up and calls us back to the core worlds to take back Anaxes, which the Seppies had gotten control of. Anakin, by the way, was fairly bouncing with the anticipation of seeing his Senator again, and then almost had a meltdown when he was told that as soon we won Anaxes back, it was back to the Outer Rim with us, no quick side trip to Coruscant allowed. I swear I saw steam coming out of his ears."

Ahsoka raised a brow marking, her lips leaving his recently shaved jawline which still smelled of enticing shaving cream to snort softly and say, "I bet. He hates being away from her for even a day, not to mention months."

Rex's hands were also busy as he talked, and right now they were exploring the lines of her back, getting closer and closer to her butt, and she was eagerly anticipating the moment when he made his destination. "In this case, it's been five months now since we've stepped foot on Coruscant and Anakin was pretty much ready to go AWOL just so he could see her." He paused and there was something in his emotions that had her looking up at him again in vague alarm. "She's pregnant, you know."

Ahsoka gasped. "No!"

Rex nodded solemnly. "Yes. I caught a good look at her hologram the other day when he was talking to her; her middle is definitely big enough to hide a tooka or two in."

"Holy Force." She shook her head. "Anakin must be going bantha poodoo crazy."

Rex snorted, his large hands now hitting the lower curve of her waist in his ever lengthening petting motions. "That about sums it up. At least he's for sure going back to Coruscant now."

"At least." Ahsoka turned her attention to his ear. "So what does Anaxes have to do with Echo?"

He shivered as she licked the shell of his ear. "Ahhhh. Um. Well, we were losing. Every battle tactic I tried or recommended was being countered easily as if they knew what we were going to do

before we did it. What really tipped me off was when I tried a strategy that I'd only ever talked to Echo and Fives about but had not yet tried because it was frankly crazy and required just the right circumstances."

"And they countered that, too?" she asked as she moved her nibbling kisses down the tense cords of his neck.

"Yes," he all but squeaked as she sucked a bit too, laving her tongue over his delicious soap and somewhat musky tasting skin. After clearing his throat - an action that felt very interesting against her lips and tongue - he continued. "And since I knew it couldn't possibly be Fives, that only left me with the alarming theory that Echo didn't actually die on Lola Sayu and had been taken prisoner by the Seppies."

"That is alarming. And tragic," she murmured as she tucked her forehead under his chin and started licking his throat.

Rex obligingly tilted his head back as his breathing quickened and his hands finally completed their journey to her arse, cupping it with clinging fingers. She smiled against the sexy bump that moved as he swallowed hard. And while it felt positively thrilling to have him hold her so, she couldn't help but tease him by saying, "You know, Rexi, I'm pretty sure I told you to keep your hands above your head for this part."

The vibration of his deep groan against her lips and against her chest was a whole new experience that she wanted to feel over and over again. "Shab, Ahsoka, you're going to kill me," he grumbled as his hands reluctantly left her butt and returned to the locked position behind his head that made his muscles look extra edible.

"I think that's the point," she said, smiling against his skin as she kissed a path down his sternum. "Just keep telling me about Echo and this will be over before you know it."

"Not bloody likely," he muttered under his breath, making her giggle as she circled a cute little nipple again. She'd always been amused that males had nipples too, considering they were essentially useless. …Except as erogenous zones to make her mate wriggle and squirm and pant with, that is.

"Talk," she murmured against his pec with an added nip of her teeth just to enforce the command when he'd done nothing but the above for a minute or more at her careful attentions to his anatomy.

"Right, sorry," he wheezed. "Force, that's good. Okay. Ahhhhh, what was I talking about?" Since his Force signature was practically sizzling and the only thought he was projecting was,

"Shab, shab, shab, shab," Ahsoka let up on his nipples so that he could think rationally again and slid down the bed a little so she could appreciate his abs more fully than before. The tight muscles looked scrumptious and in stark relief as he arched slightly up towards her mouth. "Anaxes. Echo."

"Oh yeah," Rex relaxed slightly as the stimulation of his nerve endings eased to more bearable levels. "So after getting permission to infiltrate the Seppie Cyber Center from the generals, I told Cody that I thought Echo was alive because I thought he might be there. Cody then called in Clone Force 99 to help us."

No way! She paused in her exploration of the shallow depths of his belly button to look up at him with an excited grin. His jaw looked like it was made of stone from her current angle. "Really? Cause Anakin and I went on a mission with them once and they were hella fun."

He tilted his head down to look back at her, an eyebrow raised skeptically. "I don't know if I'd call them fun; very good at their jobs and more than a little crazy, but not fun."

"Whatever you say, Captain," she laughed. "I think you might just be jealous, but I know how to make you feel better."

"I'm not jealous," he practically pouted before adding, "You do?"

Her hand, which had been resting on his thigh, started sliding up towards the once again straining length of manhood that had almost relaxed fully during her crying session. (Understandably. She hadn't been feeling particularly frisky at the time either.) As her fingers advanced closer and closer to where she knew he really wanted her touch, his breathing stilled and his body tensed again. "Oh, kriff. You do," he gasped.

Ahsoka giggled, kissing his hard stomach. "Well, I have a decently good idea anyway. Let's see how this goes."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he said encouragingly, amber eyes very intent on her progress.

Hoping to keep him distracted so he didn't explode instantaneously and embarrass himself like he'd previously thought he might do – which she honestly would only be flattered by if he did – Ahsoka asked curiously, "So what happened next in your search for Echo?"

Then, feeling like he must have when he'd finally worked up the courage to actually grab her ass, she gingerly gripped his cock.

She couldn't get her fingers to fully close around it.

And there was definitely room to spare for a second hand.

And it throbbed with life and heat as it wept for her.

She was in awe.

He was making a high pitched squeaking sound that eventually turned into words.

"Uh. Uhhh. Uhhhh, well, we were shot down on the way there, which isn't a surprise considering our destination."

"Very true," she laughed. "Seppies wouldn't want you anywhere near something so important." She also started sliding her hand up and down his length while watching the fascinating expressions of agony, ecstasy, and determination flit across his face in random patterns.

"Oh, fragging hell," he gasped as his head flung backwards and he squeezed his eyes shut. "So much better than my own hand. Ugh. Okay. Anyway, Cody was trapped and injured in the crash. Wrecker tossed the gunship off him like it was nothing."

Ahsoka looked up sharply, her hand stilling on his satin skin covered rock disguised as a Human organ. "Wait. Cody was trapped under a gunship?"

Rex pried his eyes open as he looked down at her. "Yeah. Had to be evaced out. Was in a bacta tank for three days. He almost died on Kix a couple times before they came for him. It was awful."

"It sounds awful." Poor Cody. Shifting around a bit more so her chest was resting on his hard thigh, which her nipples liked very much, she added a second hand to the fun. "Then what

happened? I'm assuming you made it to the Cyber Center?"

"We did," he wheezed, hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly behind his head as he watched her. "Took it easily. But no Echo. Tech did find a signal from him, though."

"That's good. So where did you find him?"

He gasped when she got even bolder and leaned forward to lick off the drops of fluid leaking from him. It tasted amazing and had her growling against his flesh as her mating instincts went into overdrive. "Oh stars, do that again!" She did. He whimpered. She grinned with lots of teeth showing. "Skako Minor! He was on Skako Minor!"

Ahsoka growled for an entirely different reason. "The sleemo Techno Union had him?"

"Yes!" His slitted eyes were taking in every one of her movements with avid appreciation. "More!"

"If you like," she said coyly, licking him again as she continued a low growl in her throat. And then she smiled even wider because his eyes were practically crossed now and he sounded like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. "And you got Echo back?"

He nodded almost frantically. "Wasn't easy. Had to infiltrate their base with more blasting than finesse. Took too long to find Echo. And when we did, he was hooked up to all these machines. Full of cybernetics. Not conscious. Fraggers were using his brain while he looked like a skeleton with skin on it."

"Force," she breathed against the head of his penis, making him shiver almost violently. "That's terrible. "I hope you made them pay."

"Did," Rex said on a shudder. "Blew stuff up. Can I pleeeeaaaaassseee tell you the rest later? I think this qualifies as torture."

Ahsoka looked from his anguished face to the blood-filled phallus in her hands and had to agree with him. "I'm sorry, Rexi. I'll make it all better."

Feeling the need to make it up to him and emboldened by his response to what she'd done so far, Ahsoka wrapped her lips around the head of his shaft as she licked at his slit, eager for more of the clear fluid that sent her hormones into orbit. (She could feel the moisture from her core leaking down her thighs as proof.) And when there wasn't enough of his pre-ejaculate to satisfy her, she started sucking, trying to draw more out.

"Kark!" he practically yelled. "Shabla haran! Keep doing that!" Every vein in his arms was popping out now with the force of how hard he was clenching his hands together behind his head.

Ahsoka was more than happy to oblige. And try for even more.

Very carefully keeping her teeth as tucked behind her lips as possible, she started pushing her head downwards to see how far she could take his wide cock in, licking at the underside as much as she could manage and still trying to suck at the same time. It was all very complicated, and she was sure that this was going to take a lot of practice before she would be any good at it.

But Rex was literally vibrating under her hands and chest now and making groans that sounded like they were being ripped from his soul, so she figured she couldn't be doing too badly.

Looking up at him, she popped off his cock for only a second to ask, "Okay?"

He was looking at her with utter worship in his eyes and emotions for her to feel, making her try even harder to please him. "Ugh. So much better than okay." He gulped. "I… I can't hold on much longer."

She removed her mouth from him again for another moment. "That's okay. Come for me. I want to taste it."

She was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a few seconds as she returned to her gratifying task of pleasing her mate in the most familiar way possible. Then he groaned louder than ever, which she rewarded with a purr and an ever harder suck.

His back arched. His balls drew up higher and tighter. His cock swelled slightly in her hands. And then a thicker, saltier, creamier fluid was spurting into her mouth with nearly explosive force.

She choked on the first stream that hit the back of her throat, but then she was prepared for the next and drew off him a bit so that she could capture some on her tongue to savour.

As his orgasm ripped through him, she closed her eyes and drank in not just his male essence, but how he felt in the Force through their new bond. His pleasure was so great, it triggered a small but very enjoyable clenching of her own inner muscles that left her thighs even wetter.

When he relaxed into the bed again, Ahsoka drew her mouth off of him slowly, but not leaving entirely until she'd licked every last trace of his seed away. She kissed the tip goodbye as the shaft in her hands gradually softened and smiled at it fondly, licking her lips in satisfaction to get every last trace of his taste in her mouth where it belonged. She gave the exhausted penis a final stroke of farewell and then let it go. I'm going to have such fun with that.

I wonder how long until he can get hard again?

Probably best not to ask, though, just in case that's a sensitive subject for guys.

Very pleased with herself, Ahsoka slid up his body and tugged on his wrists until he relaxed his arms and wrapped them around her. Then she kissed him gently until he opened his eyes and met hers. "Did you like that?" Was I any good?

His eyes shone with adoration as he cupped her cheeks and lekku gently in his long-fingered hands. "Ahsoka, cyar'ika, if I liked that any better, you would be calling a med droid right now to revive me from death's door."

She grinned at her mate and planted another quick kiss on his upwardly curved mouth. "Good. Now it's your turn again to do the same to me."

She thrilled to her already soaked core when his pupils blew wide again and he growled out, "Thank kriff."

Captured Again

Captured Again:

Anakin was still mentally grumbling to himself about being verbally outwitted by Obi-Wan for what had to be the thousandth time as he slowed to a jog to allow the two older members of their little rescue mission to catch up to him. It was only thanks to his sense of duty that he hadn't yet dashed away at a more Force-enhanced speed. Aside from wishing with all his being to escape Obi-Wan's (grudgingly deserved) glee, Anakin honestly couldn't wait to get off this stars-forsaken ship and the endless grey corridors that all looked the same and somehow felt like grim death in the Force. But rushing ahead was something he'd (more or less) outgrown. And... Was there a tingle of immediate warning in the Force? Or was that just an itch on his nape from the drying cold sweat that had sprung up thanks to that elevator fiasco?

Kark, it's so hard to tell what the Force is trying to say anymore. Especially when this entire mission is just one giant clusterfrag and we're this close to Coruscant where it's always a mire of overlapping and ugly warnings all the time anyway thanks to so many corrupt people living on it.

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan when he all but skipped into place beside him, clearly ignoring his injuries (as usual) and radiating poorly disguised satisfaction down their bond. Anakin gave his former Master the annoyed eye roll all that deserved and then let those matters drop in favour of more pressing issues.

And no, he wasn't thinking about opening the theoretical shipping container full of pissed off baby krayt dragons that confessing to killing Dooku would unleash just yet. (As entertaining as watching Obi-Wan keep hold of his control and sanity by the barest of threads would be, that drama could wait until the man in question brought it up on his own, thank you very much.) (Especially with Palpatine watching their every move and seeming very judgemental of his brave, kind-hearted, cinnamon roll of a Master.)

No, Anakin was more concerned about that definite tingle on his nape that was getting stronger by the step. "Master, do you feel that?"

Obi-Wan glanced at him. "Feel whaaaa..."

The projected thought trailed off as a brilliant deflector field of raw power suddenly surrounded the three of them and they all skidded to a stop to avoid running into the painful electricity.

"Ray Shields," Anakin muttered, mentally shaking his head. "I knew it had to be something!"

"Don't you just hate it when that happens?" Obi-Wan huffed back as they both glared at opposite sides of the shield like it had personally stolen their last ration bar with no new supplies coming for days. Then he spun around and levelled a truly comedic look of puzzlement at Anakin, choosing to speak aloud for who knows what reason. (Like Palpatine actually needed to hear them admit to failing at something. Seriously.) "Wait a minute. How did this happen? We're smarter than this!"

Anakin quirked an eyebrow at the overly dramatic (and frankly awful) acting. "What the kark are you playing at now?"

"Just go with it." Obi-Wan's twinkling blue eyes were saying even more then his mental voice was, so Anakin decided that he might as well play along with whatever (probably insane) scheme his usually clever (but possibly suffering from a concussion and thus likely deranged) Master was

currently cooking up this time. Palpatine's fascinated gaze as he watched them both like a championship level sporting event probably had something to do with it.

"As you wish, Oh-Wise-Wan." He stifled the urge to sigh at the same time that Obi-Wan sent him a mental snort and then grumbled out loud, "Apparently Not," as if there hadn't been the briefest of pauses between Obi-Wan's declaration of their (questionable) intelligence. "Now what?"

Obi-Wan's eyes turned an even brighter shade of brilliant blue as they twinkled even more. "Now you propose a plan."

"Me."

"Yes."

"Why me?" Anakin whined. "You hate my plans."

"I do not... Okay. Yes I do. Generally," Obi-Wan admitted, the tiniest of smirks hiding under his moustache. "So now's your chance to change my mind."

Anakin almost grinned despite the seriousness of the situation. Because in an instant, he'd come up with the best way to troll his Master back for once. He stared directly into Obi-Wan's eyes and held the most serious expression he could manage, and then came out with the most used word his Master had ever said to him. (There wasn't even a doubt about this. It might as well be legally added to the beginning of his name for all the times it had been attached to it.) "I say patience."

Mentally, Obi-Wan cracked up, laughing down their bond with a mental eye roll and a, "Force, Anakin!" Outwardly, though, he kept up his sabacc face and managed to even look unimpressed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Patience." The doubt dripped from the word like a melting ice cream cone all over a distracted youngling's hand. "Stars, that's going to make me laugh for a week!"

Anakin mentally smirked back while maintaining his serious expression for Palpatine's sake. (Snarking at Obi-Wan was always a highlight of his day, but this took the cake.) "Glad to be of service, Master. You need to laugh more."

"Ha. Ha. Happy now?"

"Delighted," Anakin drolled back before responding to their other conversation out loud again. "Yes. Artoo will be along in a few moments and then... he'll release the ray shields." "He's good like that."

Obi-Wan raised a brow and shook his head minutely. "You put way too much faith in a droid, Anakin. Perhaps you should come up with a better plan that will be more impressive to our esteemed audience."

Anakin glanced at Palpatine for a fleeting moment, finding the old man's gaze on him and looking ever so slightly disappointed. Hunh. Perhaps I should. "Is that what this whole charade is about? Making me look good for Palpatine?"

"You do seem to be the Hero of the Hour. I figured it couldn't hurt to continue that trend."

Anakin narrowed his eyes slightly at Obi-Wan. "How many times do I have to tell you to take some credit for yourself, Master? I don't want to be the only one in the spotlight all the time."

"But you're so good at it." Obi-Wan felt like he was enjoying this immensely, the bastard.

"Grrrrrr. And this is why I want to throw you off a cliff every second day or so!"

Somehow, Obi-Wan's eyes managed to twinkle more even as he kept his expression locked in dramatic disbelief. "It's a good thing I have the Force, then, isn't it."

If Anakin didn't love Obi-Wan more than he technically should, he really would shove him right into that ray shield right now, just because. Fortunately he did, and also fortunately for Anakin's (current. only current) lack of a better plan, a door opened in the hallway beside them and Artoo came tearing through it with a high-pitched squeal of overworked wheels and droid alarm. "Ha! See! I told you he'd show up!"

"So you did."

Anakin turned to watch Artoo as he careened all the way into the opposite wall, wincing in sympathy as the astromech bounced off the wall hard and beeped out a binary, "Frag!" as he recaught his balance.

"That's gonna leave a dent."

"In the wall or in Artoo?" Obi-Wan asked with his usual dry amusement.

"I don't care about the wall," Anakin grumped, concerned for his droid. "See. No problem," he said aloud, just in time for the kark-up that was his life to prove him wrong once again.

Two droidekas rolled in only seconds after Artoo (apparently what he'd been bolting from so quickly) and only another moment before the sound of heavy marching feet started ringing through the corridor en masse. As the rollies uncurled and shielded themselves, Anakin exchanged grim glances with Obi-Wan, all sense of playful fun abandoning them in an instant. "Well, this just went from frying pan to fire in a hot hypersecond."

Obi-Wan huummphed under his breath as they glanced behind them to confirm that there were just as many super battle droids coming up on them as it sounded like. There were. (At least a squadron's worth.) "That might be an understatement."

Meanwhile, from the adjacent hallway and from one of the many doorways in the corridor, more droids surrounded Artoo, one super battle droid telling Artoo, "Don't move!"

This only earned the large, metallic grey droid a shock from his brave little astromech. As usual, Anakin felt a sense of pride in his dedicated friend that quickly turned to alarm as the battle droid kicked Artoo over in retaliation. "That one's dead."

"You'll have to get us out of here first," Obi-Wan teased with his usual sense of dry snark. And then he added out loud, "Do you have a plan B?"

Anakin rolled his eyes hard enough to hurt. "Of course I do. It's even one of your favourites." (Thank kriff they had a decade or more of misadventures to draw on.)

"Oh?" Obi-Wan asked, cocking an eyebrow in question. "And which one would that be?" He rubbed said eyebrow. "Surely not this again."

Anakin grinned as they were entirely surrounded on all sides by thickly built battle droids with dozens of blasters trained on them. "As fun as that was, no. I think this time we'll spring the trap."

Now both of Obi-Wan's eyebrows all but disappeared under his fringe of copper hair. "Do you think that's wise? Considering..." He glanced over his shoulder towards Palpatine, who was looking both

alarmed and curious at the same time.

Anakin shrugged as the ray shield dropped and they were told to, "Turn around and present your hands for binding." They all did so without a word of protest, all making similar grimaces as the durasteel manacles bit into flesh cruelly. "He's crafty enough to stay out of the way. And I think it's long past time for me to have a nice 'talk' with Grievous, don't you?"

Obi-Wan chuckled silently as they were led (pushed roughly) back towards the bank of elevators. "I suppose it is. You've certainly managed to miss having a 'talk' with our slippery arthropod friend for a ridiculous number of years already."

"I know, right! It's been driving me nuts! He's like a cross between a spider and a fragging ghost!"

"I doubt that ghosts care much about procreation, Anakin," Obi-Wan said in a chiding tone accompanied by yet another mental smirk.

They were shoved into a lift and then crowded together by as many droids as could squash in with them. There was hardly room to breathe. And Artoo's strut was digging into his leg. But that just meant that he could glare at Obi-Wan up close and personal. "I swear, Obi-Wan, one day..."

"Yes?"

"I'll push you out an airlock or something." It was more a pathetic grumble of defeat than anything and they both knew it.

"You know you'll only end up jumping out after me to rescue me," Obi-Wan thought back with a fond smile.

He was right, of course.

That didn't mean Anakin would skip the mandatory eye roll, though.

At least Anakin had the upcoming confrontation with one of his arch enemies to look forward to.

Surely he could win a verbal sparring match with a being more droid than not!

And... He was definitely looking forward to their long overdue meeting.

Grievous was going to regret everything he'd ever done to his Master and Ahsoka and the clones by the time Anakin was through with him.

It was a vow he'd made to himself a long time ago and Force help him if he didn't get to keep it.

Captain's Exploration (part 1)

Captain's Exploration (part 1):

Now that the fire burning in Rex's blood for the last couple hours had finally been quenched, he could turn all of his considerable focus into learning every nook, swell, and erogenous spot on Ahsoka's delectable body.

He already knew that her lekku were highly sensitive and capable of bringing her to the peak of pleasure, so he only skimmed his fingers over them in a prelude of what was to come as he kissed her.

Also while he delved the depths of her mouth with an eager tongue, Rex rose up enough to nudge her over onto her back instead, settling the bulk of his body beside hers on his side for the moment. This allowed his right hand to travel down her lek and keep going.

She growled faintly when he moved to do so, though, the end of her lek curling to try and catch his fingers. He smiled against her luscious lips and pulled back a fraction to look at her as his fingers moved back up and caressed the dark blue tip soothingly. "I know you like that, baby, but there's more to you than just your pretty lekku for me to explore. You have to let me."

Ahsoka opened her eyes and pouted adorably, arms hugging him tighter around his neck. "I know. But it feels so good. I would honestly be happy to let you pet my lekku all day."

Rex chuckled. "And I would be happy to do it if we didn't have a war to fight. Maybe afterwards I can spend hours every day just making you purr; how's that sound to you?"

She sighed against his mouth, beautiful big eyes shining into his. "That sounds wonderful. And I'm definitely holding you to that, Rex'ika."

He pressed a quick kiss to her irresistible lips and then grinned. "Not going to be a hardship, trust me." Another kiss. "Now I'm going to explore the rest of these intriguing markings you've kept hidden all these years and you're going to like it," he said firmly.

She raised an eyebrow marking at him, laughter in her tone as she said. "Oh, I am, am I, Captain Confident?"

Rex very deliberately shifted down the bed far enough so that he could have a better view of her torso area and then smirked as he looked back up at her face. "Yep."

She sighed exaggeratedly and flung her arms out to the sides, closing her eyes as she pouted again. "Fine. Have at it."

"Thank you," he said flippantly.

And then, because her eyes were closed, he surprised her by shifting over a bit more and gently grasping her right hand and forearm to study in depth. She gasped as he kissed her inner wrist where one of her many lightning bolt stripes started, eyes popping open and turning her head to watch him as he licked a path up the pale stripe all the way to her inner elbow. "I was not expecting you to start there," she said a little breathlessly as a shiver ran through her that subtly shook the bed.

Pleased with her reaction already, Rex took a moment to smirk at her. "What, you thought I'd go

straight for the obvious parts like an overeager cadet?" "Well… yes."

He ducked his head and smiled against the incredibly soft skin of her inner elbow before laving it with his tongue once. She gasped again and her fingers curled around his hand which had been holding her arm out for his inspection. "Been a long time since I was a cadet."

Her other hand came over to run over the fuzz on his scalp as she smiled at him. "Right. All of six years maybe?"

"Something like that," he murmured, then traveled back down the lightning bolt with nibbling kisses, finishing with the center of her palm.

After completing the cadet program at seven years old, he'd then gone on to a year of squad training, a year of intensive ARC training when he proved himself more skilled than average, a year of command and strategy training when he proved gifted in that as well, and then three years of an emotionally and physically draining war at the side of his insanely energetic and reckless General, Rex felt about a million years older than his real age of nearly thirteen. If he didn't have the patience to fully appreciate the gift of Ahsoka by now, then he deserved to be shot by the next tinny he encountered.

Rex spent the next five minutes just learning every nuance of her strong little hand.

Mostly with his lips and tongue, of course.

He had her stuck somewhere between purring and giggling by the time he'd examined every line in her palm, every callus from gripping her lightsabre, each knuckle, each blunt fingernail, and the barely visible veins under her skin on the top where it was thinner and more sensitive to touch than he thought even she knew, if her shivers were anything to go by.

Which, of course, led him to follow the lightning bolt that ran up top of her forearm and keep going.

There were no markings on her upper arms yet, but the markings on her face had already expanded from how they looked when he first met her, so he had a feeling the lightning bolts on her forearms might do the same with more time. Nevertheless, he gave her lean bicep a fair amount of attention, feeling the strength in it when she clenched her hand.

Her shoulder was only covered in soft orange skin as well, but there was a new marking following the v of her collarbones that hadn't been there three years ago that looked like it would eventually make it to her shoulders. I hope I get to watch all of her markings mature with her.

The possibility that he wouldn't survive to see her fully grown in another twenty years or so – Togrutans aged very slowly for humanoids (despite having a lifespan only a couple decades longer than the average Human), much to his brothers' envy – was something that he'd resigned himself to long ago, but the dream of living his entire life with her had always been one of his driving factors in fighting so hard to stay alive while still doing his job as a soldier to the best of his ability.

Rex followed the swooping V down and around her neck and back up to her other shoulder, kissing each slightly trembling lek on the way by. Then he gave her left arm the same careful inspection as he had her right, but in the opposite pattern, tugging her hand off his head to do it.

She put her right hand on his head instead, as if she couldn't bear to stop touching him too.

He knew exactly how she felt.

And he very much enjoyed the feeling of her fingers stroking over his scalp, so he let her. (Unlike Miss Bossy Pants, who'd made him keep his hands behind his head.) To be fair, though, she was much more of a sensual species than he was, which automatically gave him more control of his body than she did and a lot less hair-trigger zones to be distracted by. He was in no danger of exploding again anytime soon, even if his decidedly-more-enthusiastic-than-normal decee was already primed and ready for another round.

He was ignoring that, though, in favour of making every second of this precious time with Ahsoka count.

He finished with her left arm by nuzzling his nose into her armpit and inhaling deeply, making her laugh and curl up a little. "What are you doing? Surely that can't smell all that great, even with my deodorant."

Rex wrinkled his nose at her, and grinned. "On the contrary, compared to the smell of my brothers' stale sweaty bodies after being encased in a spaceworthy bodysuit for days on end while on campaign, your scent is kriffing refreshing."

"If you say so," she laughed.

"I do."

"All right." Her left hand joined her right on his head and she tugged him up to her face to steal a kiss. A kiss that ended up being a lot longer than either of them anticipated as they got lost in the sensations of it all over again. Eventually, she pulled him off her with a gentle tug on his ears, since he didn't have hair long enough to do the same. She looked a little dazed, but very pleased with herself, when she said, "For the record, I think you smell good too. Bodysuit funk or no."

Not that he'd been overly worried about that, since he'd just showered and shaved before seeing her for the first time in way, way too long, but it was nice to hear that she liked his scent too. "Thank you," he said, punctuated by another brief kiss. (For real this time.) "Now be a good Commander and turn over onto your front."

Ahsoka blinked at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Why?"

Rex gave her a look that couldn't decide if it was pure innocence or worthy of a hedonistic playboy. "Because there's just as many interesting things to explore on your back half as there is on your front and I'd very much like to see and touch every one of them."

She blinked at him twice more than shrugged. "Oh. If that's how you feel about it, who am I to say no?"

My Commander, he thought automatically. Whom I would do anything for. Including never force you to do anything you didn't want to do.

Ahsoka smiled softly then cupped his face, obviously having overheard him again. "That's really sweet, but in situations such as this, I'm not your Commander. And my instincts say I'd like it very much if you not treat me as such… That I might even turn into a puddle if you were to order me to do something for a change."

A flash of possessive heat tore through Rex at her confession that had him groaning her name. "Ahso'ika… Ner kar'ta. Still killing me."

"Good," she smirked. Then she turned over and rested her head on her folded arms, one eye peeping up to watch him through thick lashes. "Now get doing whatever you have planned before I decide to fall asleep like this," she snipped jokingly, completely belying what she'd just said.

Rex's gaze landed on the three nexu stripes across the toned hills of her bottom and he smirked as he smacked one cheek with just enough force to sting a little. "Impertinent brat."

Ahsoka gasped out, "Hey!" and moved to sit up, but he was quicker, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

"Stay put," he growled in his Captain's tone that even his snarkiest brothers knew better than to disobey. "Or there's more where that came from."

She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment and then just like she'd said, her body suddenly turned limp and a dreamy smile crossed her face. "Yes, Sir."

Rex nearly let his surprise show that she was letting him get away with dominating her, but his years of training kept his stern expression in place. "That's better." In reward, he caressed a hand over her thick back lek, naturally flattened by years of sleeping on it since it couldn't move like the front ones. Gently squeezing it near the base like he'd discovered that she liked, he kissed the marking on her cheek and whispered huskily, "Stay still just like this and I promise you'll be feeling anything but sleepy, cyar'ika."

She settled even deeper into the bed and her folded arms with a little wriggle, a smile of content anticipation curving her plush lips upwards and closing her eyes nearly all the way. "Yes, my Captain."

Rex felt like the ruler of the galaxy in that moment.

Captain's Exploration (part 2)

Captain's Exploration (part 2):

Ahsoka was fairly sure that she'd purred more in the last two hours than she had in the entirety of the last two years.

She knew for a fact that she hadn't purred even once since she'd left the Order, being without her heart family around to inspire them; Bo-Katan and her extensive network of Mandalorian family members were nice, but weren't exactly the touchy-feely types, even if the red-head had unofficially adopted her into the Kryze clan. (The offer for official had been on the table, but Ahsoka hadn't wanted to cause any trouble by being known as the Mandalorian Jedi, even though she wasn't a Jedi anymore.) And the last year of the war that she had fought in had been so packed full of drama and worry that moments caught between all that to just relax and express her contentment with life as someone – Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, or one of the other friendlier brothers like Fives – let her cuddle against them had become more and more rare.

And with the way Rex was currently working her back and shoulder muscles into a completely liquid state with his clever, strong hands, she was positive her purring time wasn't anywhere near over.

"Force, Rexi," she all but moaned into her folded arms. "I haven't had a massage like this in, like, ever."

Her mate, who was currently straddling her thighs with a knee on either side, chuckled huskily and leaned forward to kiss the blaster scar below her left shoulder, affection and love flowing freely down their bond and into the Force from both of them. "I should hope not, Kid. I'd have to go shoot someone if they'd had the privilege of practically sitting on you whilst wearing not a stitch of clothing and touching your beautiful bare skin like this before me."

Despite the joking tone, there was an underlying hint of durasteel to his voice that told her he was quite serious.

Her mating instincts thrilled at the possessiveness that went against the more practical good sense that said she shouldn't want to 'belong' to anyone.

The mating instincts won.

She purred some more. "Good thing you're the first, then."

Rex made a humming sound that was very near a proper purr as well as his hands swept down the length of her spine and back up on either side of her lek. "Good thing."

Her eyes popped open as the sentence that had sent such a thrill through her replayed in her mind. She turned her head as far over her shoulder as she could manage and gave the very satisfied looking man a bit of a glare. "Hey. Why am I still 'Kid'? You can't tell me I haven't grown up enough to no longer deserve that one."

Rex blinked at her a couple times as his hands stilled in the vicinity of her waist. Then he flushed a very interesting shade of pink across his cheekbones. "Truth?"

"Of course."

He smiled a little ruefully, his thumbs starting to rub absent circles into her skin. "In my head, every time I called you Kid, it was the same as if I'd called you sweetheart, since I couldn't actually call you that. If I were to call you Kid ten years from now, it'll still mean sweetheart."

Ahsoka melted as love for this very special man filled her like enchanted moonlight. "Stars, Rex'ika, that's so sweet. But… you've been calling me Kid since pretty much the day we met!"

He looked at her with love-drenched amber eyes. "And I've adored you since pretty much the day we met. I admit I was kind of skeptical when I first saw you, what with you looking so young and beautiful and innocent while wearing nothing at all warrior-like in that practically nonexistent outfit that caused some serious commotion with the boys, until I basically had to threaten them with daily beatings masked as sparring sessions and KP duty for life if they didn't keep their eyes above your collarbones."

She laughed outright at that, not surprised at all since she'd felt the clones' fascinated attention on her back then until she wasn't a novelty anymore and just their beloved little sister instead. Everyone but Rex's, that is, she thought bemusedly.

As if he was the one reading minds this time, he continued with, "But it didn't take me long to fall like a rock for you. Back then, you were all big eyes that either broke my heart or made me want to worship at your little feet, and a snippy mouth that I wanted to do things to that would get me sent back to Kamino in a body bag."

Ahsoka's eye markings rose at that. "What kind of things?" She was finding this confession of their past utterly fascinating. And not for the first time that day, she wondered how she could have missed how much Rex had loved her all this time.

He leaned forward again and kissed her mouth, sideways to him as it was, before nibbling on her bottom lip for a moment. And then he pulled back and smirked at her. "That, for one."

She blinked once. "I honestly don't think I would have protested much if you had. That was really nice. Certainly would have been a better first kiss than the one I actually got."

He flushed with flustered pride as he turned his focus to her back again. "While I'll always cherish the idea that we could have been something sooner than now, it's not you who would have killed me for taking liberties."

It only took her a moment to figure out who he meant, since there weren't all that many options of people who'd be interested in defending her honour or person. Not counting the clones, themselves, that is, who were literally trained to do just that from day one. "Anakin."

"Anakin," he confirmed. "He, along with pretty much everyone else, figured out I was a goner for you within a couple of months. Some warnings regarding you being too young were issued that I took very seriously." His gaze and fingers of one hand were fixed on a scar that ran along her ribcage on the right side from another old blaster wound. One that she'd gotten while defending Rex from a legion of battle droids and hadn't given any indication of until the threat to their lives was taken care of. And then Rex had cursed her out for being careless with her life for his sake all while pulling medical supplies out of his belt with strangely shaking hands. I think I understand why now. It was so obvious if I'd just pulled my head out of the sand.

She snorted at both his words and her thoughts. "I bet. Anakin can be pretty intense when he wants to be."

"That's an understatement," Rex muttered, mostly to himself.

"So they all knew? Everyone but me? Even Obi-Wan and Cody?" Was I so kriffing full of my Jedi snobbishness that I was that blind?

"Unfortunately," he grumbled. "You have no idea how much teasing I've endured from the Generals and my brothers over it for the last three years."

She felt for him, she really did. I don't know how Anakin managed to keep from doing the same to me, actually. "If earlier was any indication, I can imagine."

"Yeah, that was similar," he sighed. "I love my brothers, but they can be a real pain in the shebs sometimes."

"Agreed."

Comfortable silence ensued for a minute or two as Rex resumed his massage of the muscles of her back. But then his hands stopped moving and he suddenly exploded with, "Wait just a tinny-blasting minute! Did someone else get to kiss you first?!"

Ahsoka giggled at the sheer outrage in his tone and countenance. I wondered if he'd pick up on that. "I'm sixteen years old. Almost seventeen. Of course I've been kissed before." Only twice, but that's irrelevant. The second one wasn't much better than the first even though I actually asked Lux for it that time.

Her mate growled, eyes narrowing into unhappy slits. His fingers drummed on her skin. "Who?" he bit out.

She smirked up at him. "I don't think I'll tell you. He's still my friend, despite our lack of chemistry, and I don't want you to hurt him."

His fingers drummed faster and she could actually see a flashboard of faces flicker through his mind as he tried to come up with the answer on his own. Many of them were his brothers. A few were people she wouldn't touch with a 2 metre pole no matter how nice they were, and nearly made her laugh (King Lee-Char for example). One was actually correct. After about twenty seconds, he huffed and dug his thumbs into her back a little harder than necessary as he resumed his massage. "You have too many friends," he grumbled.

"One can never have too many friends," she countered, a faint purr emerging from her throat after as his touch turned caressing again.

"I suppose that's true," he conceded. "And maybe it is better that I don't know because I'm finding myself suddenly very jealous of whoever it is."

"Hmmmm. That would be the hormones that come with a mating bond," she explained, eyes closing again in contentment from his sweeping touches. "I'd most likely scratch the eyes out of anyone who looked at you with lust right now too, if it makes you feel any better."

"It does," he said as he moved one of his hands to her back lek and started tracing the lines of her stripes with a finger.

Ahsoka's body instantly went from liquid contentment to electric alertness. Her eyes popped open again. "I thought you said you weren't going to pay much attention to my lekku while you explored the rest of me."

Rex grinned at her. "I was talking about your front ones. This one, I haven't explored yet at all." Then he kissed her between the montrals and started working his way down her blue and white

stripes. With his tongue.

She shuddered and it was her core's turn to liquefy. "Oh Force," she mumbled into the pillow as her casual pose turned into a hands-clenched-in-the-bedding one.

Her back lek wasn't as sensitive as the front ones, which is why people could pet it for her and all it would do was calm her or put her to sleep. But for Rex, just like with the front ones, everything was magnified ten times over. Every swipe of his tongue felt like it was connected directly to the pleasure center between her legs, and she was probably drenching the bedding as a result.

Force knew, she'd already soaked her panties earlier when he'd made her orgasm from petting her front lekku.

Somewhere between licks, when he was about halfway down, he actually asked, "You like that?"

My whole-body shivers aren't a good enough indication for you? What came out was another muffled moan and a, "Kriff, yes!"

"Good," he rumbled and then continued licking her with long sweeps of his tongue. When he reached the tip, he even gently folded the flat part of her lek upwards as far as it would comfortably go and started back up the underside where the skin was even more sensitive.

"Love that you have my colours on you all the time," he mumbled against her skin between ablutions. "And you taste shabla amazing by the way."

"Would," she gasped. "Hormone gland at the base of that lek. Activated during mating bonds. Your instincts are as exemplary as ever."

"Go me," he whispered, starting back down again to lick up more of the faint secretions her skin was emitting.

Ahsoka was wound so tightly now, it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge again.

And then he found that edge.

By sucking the tip of her lek into his mouth as he licked it and officially turning her into a brainless, quivering mess.

A wordless cry was muffled by the pillow she was impaling with her fingers and she came with a burst of fluid from her core and an explosion that radiated from her center outwards, leaving her a puddle of boneless Togruta when the waves of pleasure subsided.

She felt Rex practically cover her with his hard body without putting any of his actual weight on her as he pressed a kiss to a montral. "You okay?" His deep voice rumbled through her like a drug she couldn't get enough of.

She turned her head and looked up at him with heavy lidded eyes, fingers finally relaxing their grip, and smiled. "Better than okay."

His beautiful amber eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned back. "Good. Because I'm not even close to being done exploring you."

She shifted enough to hook an arm behind his neck and draw him down for a proper kiss involving lots of tongue and sharp teeth to show her appreciation.

When she let him go a minute or two later, he looked almost as wrecked as she felt and that made her very pleased indeed. She smirked and nipped his bottom lip one more time. "Bring it on, Captain."

Captain's Exploration (part 3)

Captain's Exploration (part 3):

Considering how small she was in comparison to himself, Rex was coming to the conclusion that Ahsoka appeared to have an infinite amount of places to discover on her fit little body. Each new centimetre of her richly toned orange skin was worthy of his time, especially the white markings that intrigued him so. And while he didn't have an infinite amount of said time to dedicate to the exploration of his beloved Commander, Rex was determined to make use of every second that he did have.

Just in case this was the only time he'd ever get to do so.

They were flying into a probable war in a few hours and he couldn't count on surviving it. His only goal was to make sure that Ahsoka did, and he would do everything in his power to ensure that happened, even if that meant giving up his life for hers.

Which meant that no matter how much his body wanted him to skip ahead a few steps, he was still ignoring the clamouring of his randy hormones in favour of tracing the budding markings on her slender back that looked like they might turn into a full blown image of wings one day, the blue and white chevrons of her back lek, the nexu stripes on the firm curves of her bottom, and the lightning bolts that ran up the back of her calves just like on her forearms.

She'd purred like a tooka during the massage that the exploration of her back had turned into, nearly screamed for him when he gave her back lek special attention, giggled and squirmed when he explored the stripes on her shebs, and then kicked him right off the bed when he traced a lightning bolt with his finger. (Apparently the back of her knees were very ticklish.)

At the moment, they were both laughing like children while trying to say sorry to each other at the same time after she'd peered at him over the edge of the bed and he'd looked up at her with what had to be the most surprised expression he'd ever worn.

Ahsoka managed a full sentence first between dwindling giggles. "I'm sorry, Rexi! I honestly didn't mean to do that. Are you okay?"

His chuckles died down as well as he rubbed his chest where she'd kicked him square in the sternum. "I'm fine. Missing my armour a bit, maybe, but fine." He grinned up at her a little wickedly as a new thought popped into his head. "I might have to punish you for it, though."

Her eyes widened in alarm for a moment before she caught his meaning through the Force or their bond or whatever, then she was giving him the most alluring smirk he'd ever seen. "If you must."

"Oh, I must." He crawled back up on to the bed and right over her body as she backed up and settled on her back with her head on the pillow. He felt very predator-like in that moment, and he could tell that she liked it by the fire burning in her blue eyes. It thrilled him to no end that he was turning her on and that he could be the dominant partner without repercussions. Not that taking orders from her is any hardship either, he thought as he settled with his knees on either side of her hips and his hands beside her head.

Rex dipped down and nipped at the exposed line of her neck, making her lek convulse slightly against his head and a soft gasp escape her beguiling mouth. He smiled with his lips still pressed to her soft skin. "Put your hands up and hang on to the headboard," he commanded. Turnabout is fair

play, after all.

"Like this?" she said in an indulgent tone.

He glanced up and smirked. "Exactly. And if you can't remember to keep them there, I'll have to help you do so with some extra equipment. Like my binders."

She laughed, shaking her head at him as the sexy muscles in her arms flexed while she readjusted her grip slightly. "I'm sure that won't be necessary."

"We'll see," he said smugly, remembering how hard it had been to keep his hands where she'd put them when she'd been driving every sane thought out of his head with her hands and sweet, sweet mouth.

He fully intended to do the same to her.

"I've been trained to be in control of myself since I was like, three," she said with a very smug expression. "There's no way I'm going to crack."

Rex reared back slightly, blood practically singing through his veins at her look and tone that were literally daring him to do his best. "Oooooo, a challenge. Game on, Kid. Game on. I'm gonna make you scream, and I'm gonna make you let go of those bars."

Something in his fierce, confident tone must have worked, because she didn't look quite so cocky anymore. But breathless and wide-eyed? Most definitely. She definitely likes it when I'm firm with her. Who'd have thunk it?

So Rex started on his mission to make his Commander fracture into a million whimpering, screaming pieces, blatantly ignoring the fact that he had no actual experience to back up his own confident attitude.

His first step was to kiss her until her body relaxed under his and a purr of pleasure escaped her throat. That accomplished, Rex travelled his mouth down her neck again, but didn't linger; he had new territory to explore, after all.

New territory like the beautiful breasts that were thrust up towards him thanks to the position of her hands above her head.

He spent an inordinate amount of time kissing each of the little diamonds that circled her areola while holding and kneading the other breast with an equal amount of excessive glee that he was once again actually touching bare female breasts, having never even come close to it before today. And when he felt like he'd lingered long enough, he finally moved his attention to her already beading nipples. He took turns plucking at one with his fingers and nibbling on the other. By the time he'd done that for a few minutes, her nipples were hard as tiny rocks and she was panting and writhing between his legs. Her eyes were heavy lidded with blissed out adoration as she looked at him, making Rex feel like he could do no wrong with this girl.

So far, everything he'd tried had worked out well – baring the incident with her ticklish knee - so his confidence level was about as high as it could get when he decided it was time to move on.

He skimmed his hands down her sleek sides as he kissed his way down her torso and all the way to the top of her pubic mound. She had a diamond here too, maybe twice as big as the ones on her forehead, and tiny little wings fanned out from it in the most adorable way, undoubtedly to grow bigger as she matured. Her body is like an ever evolving work of art that I will never tire of looking at and exploring to discover each and every little change.

Rex kissed the diamond and little wings and then used his hands on her thighs to encourage her to spread her legs as he shifted so that he was kneeling between them.

She made a funny little sound as he stared at the moist slit between her thighs in disbelieving awe.

So that's what a vagina looks like. It's kind of like a flower, actually. Pretty.

But the longer he stared at it, the more concerned he became. Remembering how easily she could read his mind now, he threw up his shields before he let himself think the next thoughts.

And… Shab, am I actually supposed to fit in that tiny little hole? I'll tear her to shreds if I try.

Frag. There goes that dream. But that's okay. Her mouth is pleasure enough. More than I ever expected to get, that's for kriffing sure.

Just forget that for now and let's see if her juices are as tasty as the rest of her. I heard Fives say he made a girl come three times in a row by sucking on her slit. I want to give my Soka the same.

As he started to dip down, hands moving to cup her arse and raise her up to him at the same time, the funny little sound she'd made earlier came out louder and more insistent, like she was trying to get his attention but wasn't sure if she should. He paused and focused on her face. It was twisted in a sort of grimace but she also looked kind of hopeful at the same time. He made what he assumed was the correct leap of logic. "Don't you want me to?"

Her cheeks definitely turned slightly pink under her white markings. "I… Yes? But it's kind of weird at the same time. I know people do this and it's supposed to be very pleasurable, but…"

He rubbed his thumbs over her hip bones soothingly. "Trust me, I really want to. Did you think it was weird when my cock was in your mouth?"

She shook her head, blushing to a colour he'd honestly never seen on her before. Even the blue of her chevron stripes darkened. "No. All I was thinking about was making you feel good. And I like your penis; it's very responsive and I got the impression that it really liked me."

Bloody hell. Now he was the one blushing like a virgin. (Which they technically were, but still…) Rex let her go with one hand to run it over his face, hoping to dispel some of the heat and buy himself a second to regroup. He recupped her butt cheek and found his confidence again with some determination. "Then you should know how I feel about this. I want to make you feel good too, okay?" He even dropped his shields again to make sure she could feel his complete sincerity.

Ahsoka stared at him for a few anticipation-filled seconds before she nodded. "Okay. But I don't want to know if I taste bad."

He almost laughed. I very much doubt that will be the case. "Can I tell you if you taste good?" Now he had her smiling again, which made him feel like a million credits. "Sure."

So, wasting no more time, Rex pulled her hips up a little higher as he dove down and licked her slit from bottom to top with no preamble, inspiring a squeak of surprise from his precious cyar'ika. Then he made a production of contemplating the savoury flavour of salt and woman that burst like fireworks on his tongue as he stared at her face again.

"Well?" she said after a bit, apparently changing her mind about wanting to know either way. Rex licked his lips and then grinned. "You taste divine, Ahsoka. Absolutely delicious."

"Oh, good." She grinned and wriggled her arse in his hands a little. "Now do that again."

He laughed and dove back in, licking her again. And again. And again. By the fifth lick, she was already starting to whimper. By the twentieth, she was saying his name like a prayer. And when he discovered that if he concentrated on just the little nubby part at the top of her slit, and she started chanting, "Force, Force, Force, I am one with the Force, I am one with the Force, I am one with the Force," he knew he'd found the perfect spot.

So he stayed on that little nub and started experimenting with speed and pressure and eventually even took to sucking and nibbling on it.

"Oh stars!" she nearly yelled as her back suddenly arched up from his hands and her muscles tensed from neck to toes.

That's one. But not good enough yet. She didn't scream, and she's still got a strangle hold on the bars. I guess I'll just have to try harder. Rex grinned fleetingly as he continued to suck on her nubbin until she relaxed in his hold and then squirmed a little to indicate that he needed to leave off. Understanding from experience with his own body that she was probably overly sensitive, he did. But he only turned his attention further down, licking at her tiny hole instead and below, drinking in the sweet juices that had escaped her in her pleasure.

She was purring with contentment at his attentions now, so Rex continued, curious to see how much of his tongue he could press into the hole. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that it seemed to stretch with pressure. I wonder…

Feeling daring (and maybe a fraction desperate, considering the throbbing and needy state of his eager deecee) he shifted his grip on her so that only one hand held her up and the other was free to roam. His fingers didn't roam far, however, only moving over and up a bit to stroke over her slit. When she didn't protest, didn't even open her eyes, he pressed one against her hole and watched with amazement as it sunk inside into an incredible slippery heat that grasped his finger lovingly. Holy shit.

He pushed it further. And further, expecting to find an end to the tunnel or a virgin barrier, or something. But there was nothing; his finger sank in all the way to the base. "Shab," he breathed reverently.

Ahsoka cracked her eyes open. "That is what that particular opening is for, Rexi."

She was laughing at him. And he didn't care. "How much can you fit?" he blurted out without any forethought to how rude or crude that might sound until after he said it. He winced. "Sorry. That was..." Ugh. That was ugh.

Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind, only shrugging slightly and blushing again as she rescued him from his own idiocy. "I don't know. Never had more than my fingers in there so far."

Fingers?! Plural?! Shab. He wiggled his solitary finger within her, itching to give it a friend or two if she was up for that. (Which would definitely come close to being as much space as he'd need to finagle another body part into her inviting tunnel.) "You want to find out?"

She blushed darker again and nodded tentatively all while unobtrusively trying to push herself onto his finger even further. (He noticed anyhow. How could he not?) "Yes? But nothing crazy. I don't want you to try and stick your whole fist in me or anything like that."

Reflexively, he pulled his hand free and made a fist only to stare at it in dismay. It was at least

twice as wide as his dick. Probably more. It would never even have occurred to him to try such a thing if she'd never mentioned it. "Who in their right mind would want to do that?!" Isn't the idea of it all to sink into something more or less tight?

She shrugged again, her hands clenching and releasing on the headboard. "I don't know, but I've heard things."

He gawked at the girl he'd thought was pretty much just as innocent as he was. "How in the hell would you hear about anything like that with the mostly sheltered life you've led?"

"Ever since the war started, my life hasn't been as sheltered as you think. Seedy bars, pretend slave missions, captured by pirates… And after I left the Order, it didn't exactly get easier. I'm honestly lucky I never ended up an actual slave at the mercy of sleemos who just wanted to use and abuse my body."

Rex had actually harboured similar thoughts regarding her luck a few times in the past, especially after Hondo had had his greedy hands on her for enough hours to make both himself and Anakin nearly lose their minds because they were too far away to rescue her right away. (Fortunately, the younglings she'd been with did it for them.) "Kriff, Soka. I'm sorry we couldn't protect you better." He leaned forward and kissed her softly. "It would have broken me if you'd ended up in a fate such as that."

She almost let go of the headboard, probably in an aborted reflex to hug him. He felt it in the way she tensed and relaxed under him. Her eyes were very sincere and accepting as she looked up at him. "It's okay, Rex. So I had to grow up faster than usual for a Jedi, at least I knew how to defend myself. Many Togrutan girls never learn how and are at the mercy of the vile galaxy we live in. The Twi'leks and pretty Humans, too. I'm glad I had the life experience I did. And I'm looking forward to experiencing more of it. Especially with you. Now, do you think you could maybe go back to what you were doing?"

Rex huffed, shaking his head and smiling a little ruefully. Her inner strength never fails to amaze me. "Sure, baby, sure." He kissed her one more time and then shifted back down to where paradise awaited him.

Losing Control

Losing Control:

Ahsoka had already experienced a wide variety of lessons in her life regarding patience and maintaining control of her emotions and the Force Power within her, but what Rex was doing to her right now was exceeding them all.

His teasing command to hang on to the headboard while he pleasured her shouldn't have been that difficult to follow, but she constantly had to stop herself from letting go. Her fingers wanted so badly to touch his head where it was buried between her legs and pet the short, silky hairs on top in appreciation. Her new heartmate was an incredibly clever and perceptive man, and even though he'd obviously never touched a female before her in such an intimate way, Rex was using his preexisting skill set to his advantage.

Or more accurately, hers.

While Ahsoka had dedicated a respectable amount of time towards learning her own body and what made it hum with satisfaction – especially after her first heat cycle kicked in last year, and the calming drugs had only given her the willpower to not jump on the nearest attractive male (something not lacking in her vicinity) – what Rex was making her feel now in comparison felt like the difference between warm sunlight and submerging oneself in an erupting volcano.

Not that she'd ever experienced the later, but surely this was similar?

Because Ahsoka was burning. And exploding. And burning and exploding some more.

With a little help from her overeager Togrutan biology, Rex was making her come again and again and again, and she was starting to lose her mind over it in the best way possible. (Unless you happened to be a headboard whose bars were being slowly but surely bent out of shape.) His tongue had mastered the art of stimulating her clit, and his long fingers had found sensitive places inside her that she hadn't even known existed (especially the one at the top). He'd worked his way up to three fingers by the time she'd climaxed for the third time in the last fifteen minutes, and she was hoping he wasn't planning on trying for more, because she honestly didn't think she could stand that much more stimulation.

If she wasn't so blissed out, she'd probably be embarrassed about how much she'd already soaked him and the bed with her constantly flowing juices. At least Rex didn't seem to mind. He just kept lapping them up with the sexiest little groans of satisfaction escaping his throat, only managing to turn her on more. Not to mention the way his enjoyment and pride at what he was doing to her was flowing down their bond like waves on an incoming tide, rocking her world further with how much he loved bringing her pleasure.

And she could feel how aroused he was again, which was driving her insane with the need to reciprocate. But he wanted her to hold on to the headboard, so by Force, that's what she was going to do. But that doesn't mean I can't get him to change tactics in other ways, she thought dazedly after he'd made her come for a fourth time and the poor bars finally snapped off in her hands. (She didn't notice, though.)

Summoning the last smidgeon of focus she had left and bolstering it with a deep inhale to steady her gasping breaths, Ahsoka ran the toes of her right foot down his back and to his fine arse to get his attention as she called out huskily, "Rex."

"Hmmmmmm?" he hummed against her sensitive skin as he cleaned up her latest offering from her depths and folds, making her eyes close as shivers chased up her spine again.

She had to inhale deeply again to regain control of her body as it thought about winding up for another climax with only that one sexy vibration against her pussy. Frag it! Focus Ahsoka! "Rex, I never intended for us to fly this quickly into our relationship already, but I want more. Scratch that. I NEED more." He finally looked up at her, his eyes widening and hands tightening on her thighs with every new word she added. "Despite the fact that it's nowhere near time for my next heat cycle, I think you've triggered it to start early. Or this is an extra mini one because we're newly mated. I'm boiling to death and I need you so much it hurts."

She wasn't lying; her core was clenching on nothing over and over again and it just felt wrong.

Ahsoka's body knew what it wanted, and it wasn't going to cool off now until she got it.

Rex swallowed hard, his face suddenly pale under the flush and shine and his arousal ramping up another hundred degrees to add to the loop bounding through their bond. "What… What do you want me to do?"

Ahsoka pushed on his ass with her foot as she bared her teeth at him in a feral smile. "I want you to crawl up here and kiss me and frag me with that wonderful cock of yours until I pass out from the pleasure. Then I want you to wake me up and do it all over again."

Rex, bless his warrior heart, immediately took that as a challenge, and his expression went nearly as feral as hers. "Your wish is my command, cyar'ika," he growled, crawling up her body like a stalking nexu. (And oh, that was sexy as hell.)

Once their faces were level, and he was literally lying on her, giving her all of his weight, except for his legs which were between hers – something that surprised her, but she found she liked the heavy possession very, very much – he reached up and surprised her even further by prying her hands off of the bars and then showing her what she'd done with an epic smirk. "I think I did my job, don't you?"

Ahsoka gawked at the bent wrought iron bars in his hands that had very clear finger dents in them. "Kriff, Rex. That's not supposed to happen!"

He laughed as he tossed the bars off to either side of the bed, and then he grabbed her hands and put them behind his neck after kissing them both. "My beautiful warrior Jedi," he praised, unconcerned about her strength. She wrapped her arms around his neck, sensing she was going to want to hold on tight for what was to come. His amber eyes were practically sparking flames as he looked at her with so much heat and desire, her core clenched again and the poor bed got another dousing. "I'm taking it as a compliment. I like making you lose control of yourself." He then planted his hands on the bed beside her montrals and dipped down to steal her breath with the hottest kiss they'd exchanged yet – which she hadn't thought was actually possible.

His cock was trapped between them, rubbing through her pussy lips and up her mound, passing over her clit with each subtle shift of his hips. Ahsoka loved it, and she knew that he did as well, but they both wanted more. So, so much more.

Pulling her mouth away from his by a fraction, she practically snarled, "Stop teasing and put it in me before I roll you over and do it myself."

Rex growled back at her with narrowed eyes, "Not a shabla chance!"

She sucked in a breath at his refusal to be dominated, so turned on by it, she could hardly stand it.

Rex fitted action to his words immediately, reaching down between them and guiding himself to her entrance with his hand, his resolution to do it perfectly coming through loud and clear down their bond.

Despite being wetter than a lake and way more prepared than she thought had been necessary, Ahsoka still couldn't believe how much Rex had to work to get into her. "Force, Rex," she panted, digging her nails into his shoulders. "You're kriffing thick!"

He dropped his forehead down to hers, beads of sweat sticking them together. The expression on his face made it look like he was in agony, but what she felt from him said it was of the best possible kind. "And you're kriffing tight!" he said through teeth clenched so tightly, she worried that he would crack them.

In an effort to help, Ahsoka tried to relax, but that just wasn't going to happen with the way her nerves were firing like an ion engine. She clenched her teeth too and then said through them, "Just do it."

Rex cracked his eyes open. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Taking her at her word – which he'd been conditioned to obey whether he liked it or not – Rex did as she asked. Withdrawing what small amount of progress he'd made so that only the thick head remained in her, Rex then met her eyes for a second, his thoughts suddenly shuttered behind his shields, before dipping his head and nosing her lek out of the way. She might have actually screamed a little when he bit her neck hard and thrust all the way into her at the same time, but the way her mind shorted out for a minute, Ahsoka would never be sure. It might have just been in her imagination.

When her nerves settled enough for her to notice something other than white-hot rapture again, Rex was still biting her neck, but now more nibbling than maiming, his arms were wrapped around her back as he held her as close as possible, and his cock was buried in her to the hilt with only the faint shudders of his vibrating body creating any movement.

The pleasure was exquisite.

She purred deeply to let him know just how much, stroking her fingers over his hair. I wonder how he heard that mating bites are practically magic? Should ask him later.

Rex gave her throbbing neck one final lick and looked up at her, worry in his eyes. "You good now?"

She gave him the most satisfied smile possible, fingers still stroking and purr still motoring away. "I was never not."

"But you screamed."

Well, that confirms that. "Did I?" she hummed innocently.

"And passed out."

"Did not," she protested, to ease his conscience. "I was just processing."

His look said he didn't believe her. "If you say so."

"I do," she purred, grinning at him cheekily as she shifted her hips under his weight and gave an experimental squeeze with her inner muscles. An action that felt fragging amazing, by the way.

Rex sucked in a breath. "Shab, Soka. Don't do that if you don't want me to pound you into the mattress."

Her eyes lit up. "But I want you to pound me into the mattress."

"But you've never…" he tried to protest, even as his cock twitched within her at the idea and somehow thickened and lengthened even further. It took her a second, then, Oh, he must have softened a bit when he thought he'd hurt me. Poor Rexi.

"Doesn't matter. I'm good now. All relaxed and everything. Your instincts continue to amaze me."

Rex blinked once and then glanced down at her neck which guaranteed had his teeth marks in it – she could feel every single one. "Oh. That worked?"

"Oh yeah."

"Hunh." Rex grinned at her throaty confirmation. He even dared to move a centimetre or two within her, testing the waters. Even that tiny movement was enough to make them both moan and groan in synchronized expressions of euphoria. With some determination, Rex pried his eyes back open and continued to move in tiny fractions as he spoke, maybe hoping to distract himself. "Thought Fives was pulling my leg about mating bites for Togrutans. I don't know where he heard these things, but he came up with the most unbelievable facts about different species' sexual habits."

Ahsoka tightened her limbs around Rex's barely moving body, willing to play along with the distraction game for another moment or two. "Is that so?"

"Hmmmmm," he managed as confirmation after trying a slightly harder and longer thrust. Sweat was all but pouring off of his rock-hard body now as he worked at controlling himself. She wanted him to give in to his urges, but she'd give him another minute if it made him feel better about it.

"What else did our favourite prankster of a brother tell you about my species?" Ahsoka squeezed his cock again, hoping to hurry this along.

Her mate visibly gulped, shooting her a look of chastisement that she pretended not to understand. "Well, he said that Togrutan males have giant barbed dicks and that the females are always happy to avoid mating with their own kind whenever possible."

Ahsoka barked out a laugh. "Where in the galaxy did he get that load of poodoo from?"

Rex looked at her in something akin to relief. Probably just for the sake of all the females of her kind in general, sweet man that he was. "I don't know."

She rolled her eyes. (And her hips.) (Rex liked that. A lot.) "Probably from some spiced up sleemo Tog at a bar who was bitter over losing his girlfriend to a clone."

"Probably," he groaned as she rolled her hips up against him again. "My brothers are awfully good at sweet talking the ladies."

"I know," she smirked. "They practiced on me enough to write a book... Which they then made a digital copy of and sent it to all the legions and their younger brothers still on Kamino."

Rex's forehead hit her shoulder as he shook with silent laughter. And boy, did that do interesting things to where they were connected.

Ahsoka let him laugh for half a minute before she ran her nails down his spine, making him shiver instead. "Rex'ika?"

"Yes?" he grunted from her shoulder.

"Do you think you could pound me into the mattress now? You promised to make me pass out from pleasure multiple times, if you recall."

"Oh, I recall," he rasped, finally rising up again. His eyes were gleaming with that nearly feral look again that made her heart race with anticipation. "You ready for this?"

"I told you I was."

"All right then." He inhaled deeply, then drew almost all the way out in one smooth glide, paused for two seconds, and then slammed back into her to the hilt. She gasped. He groaned. Their eyes met. And then he was doing exactly as she asked; driving his hips into her as hard and fast as a supremely fit male could go.

Ahsoka loved it. More than anything.

She held on for the ride as her mate made her body sing over and over again with extreme pleasure. At some point, she looked over his shoulder and saw everything that wasn't bolted down floating around the room in a swirling storm of her unleashed power, but she honestly didn't care. She wasn't hurting anybody, so she didn't see it as a problem. If Rex noticed that she'd lost control of herself, he never mentioned it. Not then, anyway.

By the time she'd lost count of her orgasms, she knew for a fact that Rex had come inside her nearly as often, but just like her, he was possessed by the heat thrumming through her blood. Fortunately for their poor overused bodies, the intense storm only lasted for an hour or two before she finally cooled off to her more normal temperature of a few degrees warmer than a Human, and Rex slowed down to a crawl and eventually just stopped, panting on top of her.

She never actually did pass out during the mating frenzy, but Ahsoka had never been so tired in her life. She could probably say the same for her incredible mate who found some energy from somewhere to roll them over so she could lie on top of him instead and finally breathe deeply again.

Ahsoka dredged up enough of her own flagging energy to cup his jaw with her hands and give him the most loving kiss imaginable. "You're mine forever now, Rexi," she whispered against his lips.

Rex looked back at her, raising his hands to rub his thumbs over her cheek markings as if she was made of fragile glass, making her heart ache. "And you're mine, Ahso'ika. I wish I could tell the galaxy as much. I wish I could marry you and give you a house and children."

She looked down at his heartbreakingly sad amber eyes, wishing with all her might for the same.

And then, a ceremony popped into her mind like a gift from the Force. One she'd witnessed a few times during her stay with Bo-Katan's clan. Ahsoka inhaled abruptly and whispered, "Rex, what if you could?"

Author's Note

Author's Note.

Just letting you guys know that I have reordered the existing chapters of this story so that there are two Anakin chapters between each Rexsoka chapter in the later part of the existing story. I did this because moving forward from here, we were going to end up with a huge Anakin streak of chapters if I want to keep the story chronological, which I really do. This means that the next ten(ish) chapters that I write will be Anakin ones but they will be placed within the current Rexsoka chapters so that future readers will get decent pacing between the two story arcs. I will make a note on this page and in the synopsis about which is the new chapter for you to read in case you're not subscribed for email notifications.

The good news is that eventually I'll catch up the Anakin arc to the Rexsoka one in terms of timeframe and things will then go back to normal. :P

Thanks for understanding,

TheLoneRebel.

Chapter 29: Captured Again is newest. :D

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