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“Did you hear about Stark Squad?”
“I heard they failed the practice test.”
“They blew up half of the arena!”
“But the leader made it out, right? Rex?”
“Yeah, but he killed the person he was supposed to save.”
“No way! He’s never going to pass now!”
He’d heard the whispers all day. They filtered around the locker room, the mess, the halls and the barracks. It seemed no one could keep their mouths shut about Stark Squad’s performance earlier this morning during their training exercises. It really wasn’t as big a deal as the others made it out to be, but as Cadets, they were competitive, and they were competing against one of the finest they’ve had yet.
But there had been no sign of Rex since then, and a wash of worry settled in Cody’s stomach. He passed the door to his own barrack, where surely they would be looking for him eventually. After all, it was after hours, and if the Sergeant saw that he was out of bed again , his hide would hang for sure.
Creeping further down the hall, he was careful to check around the corner before he swooped by and hung a right at the juncture. Six doors down on the right-hand side was his destination. He stopped outside a familiar door. This wasn’t the first time he’d come here, and with any luck, it wouldn’t be the last. With bated breath, he pressed the button to release the door locks.
"Rex?" Cody whispered as he peeked into Rex's room. From what he could discern, the other cadets in the barracks were asleep already, but he knew Rex wouldn’t be. Call it a hunch.
"Cody?" The response was quick, confirming his suspicions. Their beds weren’t the most comfortable, probably to get them used to not having a bed to sleep on in the first place, and they barely slept one, much less two. Cody heard the sheets rustle as Rex made room for him despite that.
"You shouldn't be here,” Rex sighed as Cody approached. “If they catch you in here again, you'll be on 'fresher duty for a month."
It was just light enough in the room that Rex would have been able to see the outline of Cody's shoulders as he shrugged.
"There are worse things,” Cody replied nonchalantly. “Besides, I heard about what happened. I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
Rex retreated in on himself as he rolled over, facing the wall.
"I don't want to talk about it,” he mumbled, crossing his arms as he pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
Cody frowned as he climbed into the bed beside him.
"It isn't that bad, Rex. You still made it further than anyone else has in that course, myself included."
"I shot the person we were trying to save , Cody," Rex hissed through clenched teeth without looking at him. "That's pretty bad if you ask me."
Cody winced a little at his tone, but settled in behind him nonetheless. The tight space didn’t leave much room for him to put his hands anywhere but around his friend's waist, but if Rex was bothered by the touch, he didn’t say anything.
"You made a mistake in training. You learn from your mistakes and move on." Cody tried to be supportive, but he knew as well as any of the troopers do that war didn't forgive mistakes, and that was what Rex was really worked up over.
"At this rate, I'll be the one assigned to 'fresher duty for the rest of my life," Rex grumbled with a pout. Cody could hear it in his voice without being able to see his face.
"Come on, that's a little harsh," Cody stifled a chuckle and brought his other hand to card through Rex's hair. Eventually, Rex did roll back over, and now that Cody could see him in the dim light of the hallway seeping under the door, he could tell that he'd been silently crying. He frowned deeply as he stared at him longer, his chest aching a little. Rex had always been entirely too hard himself, expected more of himself than other other Cadet that Cody had ever met.
"You're going to be the greatest of all of us one day," Cody whispered to him firmly. "You'll be a hero."
Rex’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head in brusque denial. His tone was thick with disbelief.
"A hero? No way, Cody. If any of us is going to be a hero, it'll be you," he insisted with a shadow of pride in his friend.
Cody couldn’t help the tiny smirk that curled his lips at the compliment.
"Well, yeah, that's the plan, but every hero has someone at their side, right? Why can't we both be heroes?"
The comment clearly took Rex aback, and he blinked several times, as though to process exactly what Cody might have been implying. He didn’t think he was insinuating anything, just that they could both be known for their efforts.
"That's child's talk, Cody,” Rex sighed, and the sadness had settled in his voice again. “Do you know how unlikely it is that we'll even see each other if we get put on the front lines?"
Cody frown even deeper, then. He hadn't given it too much thought before, if he was being honest. Of course, he logically knew that they were likely to be separated once they passed the final test. That was just how it worked, but until now, he hadn't given any consideration to the thought that he might not want to be separated from Rex. The idea alone left an awful taste in his mouth.
“Don’t say that,” he spat, his grip on Rex’s waist tightening and surprising both of them before he reeled himself back in. “I’m just...saying that you’re going to be great, Rex. One slip up in training isn’t an automatic failure, and if we do see each other once we’re on the front lines, you better believe I’ll be right there beside you.”
Cody’s declaration was fierce, and he meant every word of it. He knew that there would be no better team than he and Rex on the battlefield. They would be a force to be reckoned with. They were the top of their squads and their class of cadets for a reason.
Rex settled back down from bristling earlier, resting his face mere inches from Cody’s. They might have all had the same face, but Rex was somehow different. There wasn’t a word that Cody could place to it, but the one that seemed the most appropriate was mesh’la .
"Cody?" Rex questioned, this time more quiet than before.
“Hm?” Cody answered, content to stay there all night, even if it meant ‘fresher duty for a whole month.
"Thanks for coming tonight," Rex whispered, and Cody could feel the breath of his words as they tickled his lips.
“I always will,” he replied with ease, and he wrapped his arm tighter around Rex’s middle, pulling them flush together on the small bed.
Yeah, ‘fresher duty would definitely be worth this moment.