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"I can't believe you two," she groused at the two bed-bound individuals before her. "Not only did you force me to change plans last minute, but you had to go and get yourselves injured." She paced back and forth in front of their medical beds, gesticulating wildly as she continued her complaining. "Do you like skipping the debriefings? Or do you find a perverse pleasure in making me do all the hard work? I shouldn't even be the one to do it, but can you two behave yourselves? NEVER!" She paused to glance outside the medical bay window at the two attentive clones, whose amused expressions gave her more frustration than amusement. She whipped her head back to face the troublesome duo once more, almost wishing her glare would cause them both to drop dead, or at least catatonic. By the Force, though, were they pushing it.
"Now we're stuck waiting for you both to heal up, which means we'll get stuck with every frakking minor mission between Coruscant and the Outer Rim! You're supposed to be two of the best Jedi we have, and neither one of you can't wait one minute before rushing ahead and getting yourselves into trouble?" She put both hands onto her hips, her lips twisting from a frown into a full-on snarl. "WHAT do you two have to SAY for yourselves?!"
"We're sorry," Luminara responded.
"Really, really, sorry," Anakin added. Ahsoka sighed and pinched her nose.
It was truly a bad day when she had to be the adult. Maybe she shouldn't flirt with Rex in front of Anakin so much next time. Apparently, Barriss was right in telling her that she was starting to act obvious in the fact that Rex and she were in a relationship. This had to be payback for the last time(s) she did that. But it didn't excuse this! Despite their apologies, both Jedi Masters appeared to be holding back humor of some sort. Or perhaps she was getting touchy? Well, she had every right! They could have gotten themselves killed!
Luminara had healed up in time for them to be called to yet another battlefront. The intel they'd been given consisted of the usual: Separatist tinnies trying to take over a planet friendly to the Republic. What had been interesting was that Grievous was leading them – interesting only because all four Jedi had had confrontations with him in the past and were dying for a rematch, even if two among them would not admit to it (*cough* Barriss *cough* Luminara *cough*).
However, upon arriving planetside and establishing their line of defense, the padawans had been quickly abandoned by their masters – Anakin rushed off in hot pursuit after Grievous taunted him, and Luminara had been hot on his heels. Once the padawans had scraped their jaws off the ground and turned the tide of the battle around to where the tinnies were all scrapped, their comlinks were beeping with an alert from their Masters. Tracing it all the way to the palace (and seeing their handiwork: scrapped remains of what had been Grievous's plot to destroy the capital), they found their masters standing against the wall of the ruling council chambers. Both padawans had been ready to passively-aggressively glare at their masters when they realized something.
Neither one was actually standing. Propped up was more accurate, and fittingly descriptive. Ahsoka sensed something was off when Barriss and she arrived on the floor to see the two Jedi Masters talking to the royal family with their backs planted squarely back against the wall. Ahsoka was used to her master acting improperly; Barriss looked ready to keel over at seeing her master doing the same. Once they got closer, reestablishing their connections since their Force bonds had been blocked, they realized that the wall was the only way their masters would be able to remain upright. The important thing was that they were alive. Grievous had escaped – again. Any sordid details of the exchange would have to wait – they had to rush their masters to a medical bay. The royal family offered their personal medical bay for use, and were insistent to the point where it would have been rude to refuse.
Once Anakin and Luminara were put into bacta tanks, the padawans were back out to assist with post battle clean up and casualty and equipment tallies. All totaled, it took approximately two hours to get accurate enough numbers for the debrief. Again, the royal family was generous and offered them the use of their ruling chambers. How Ahsoka envied Barriss's ability to remain calm – she was fit to be tied. Obi-Wan must have guessed what had happened because he stayed on the line after the debrief was finished, while Barriss had left, saying she needed to check on their masters. He was a good listener as she vented and gave good suggestions as usual. He seemed calm as ever, but his eyes appeared to be twinkling with amusement.
How he put up with Anakin for over ten years, she had no idea.
Now she was in the medical bay, glaring daggers at the two people who were older and supposed to know better than to run off on their own against a homicidal maniac. Luminara, despite looking like she was about to smile, was meeting her gaze with a somber look in her eyes. Anakin, on the other hand, had decided to stop all pretenses a while ago by unleashing a boyish grin. He didn't seem fazed at all when her glare became icier. He needed to be dealt with first.
"You know," she began, completely zoned in on her master, "I COULD go to the Council and request a transfer of apprenticeship to Obi-Wan."
"You wouldn't do that, Snips! You like the excitement I bring!" he smirked.
"Not when you could have DIED!" she raged back. "Did you forget it was GRIEVOUS you were headed after?!"
"Luminara was with me," he said, pointing a thumb in her direction. Ahsoka quickly glanced at her; if she disliked it, her face showed no sign of it. "I knew I'd be okay."
"How do you know that?" Ahsoka asked in disbelief. "He could have taken her out, or you before she would have even caught up to you!" He did this often – acted like their opponents were no big deal. Tinnies were one thing – Grievous was another! A murderous cyborg was several levels above a mindless droid programmed to shoot a blaster. While she knew her master had amazing skill and prowess, she was too often reminded that he could be hurt. Visiting him in the medical bay, like she was doing now, was becoming too much of a reoccurring nightmare.
"Ahsoka." She turned to look at the other bedbound Jedi. "I'm sorry. Our actions scared you and Barriss, and we should have thought before running off like we did. Especially when we yell at you and Barriss for doing similar stunts. I also would like to apologize on behalf of my colleague, your master Anakin, here." Her anger ebbing with the spoken words accompanied by an apologetic tone, she relaxed her legs, her back and shoulders following.
"Thank you, Luminara," she said gratefully. "I accept your apology. I guess I could accept it on behalf of Skyguy here," she turned to glare at her master, "since he's too oblivious to do so himself." She looked back at Luminara, feeling her face soften up. "Please keep an eye on him. Also, please make sure you both get rest." Neither statement was meant to be a request.
"We will," Luminara replied, her deep blue eyes communicating her sincerity. Anakin was, thankfully, remaining quiet. As Ahsoka turned to leave, she heard whispers being exchanged, and a muffled 'thump'. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she was hearing an argument occur.
"Ummm... Ahsoka?" That was her master's voice.
"Yes?" she asked, keeping her back to him. Force help her if he was going to make excuses again.
"I'm sorry," he said. He stopped after saying those two words, probably either wondering if he should continue talking (no) or hoping that she would take it for what it was worth. Well, at least now he was trying. Better late than never.
"I know," she said, turning around to smile at him. He even changed his face to look worried, a far cry from his teasing persona minutes prior. "Just rest up, okay? I'll be back after I find and talk to Barriss." She exited through the door, feeling tension slowly leak off of her. At least Anakin did apologize for his actions – and if Luminara had been the cause for it, she found she didn't mind. Hopefully she wouldn't have to do much more scolding. It took away all the fun that came with rule breaking when she did it.
*******
"What?" Anakin turned his head to look over at her. He must have finally noticed her stare boring into the side of his face. She knew well enough that he wasn't the most observant of persons. At least he did apologize to Ahsoka, as per her suggestion. The poor girl looked haggard as she made her way through her lecture. She wondered if she looked like that every time she chewed out the padawans.
"You knew you'd be okay?" Luminara asked, arching an eyebrow while choosing to pick over an earlier statement. She turned onto her side to face him and rested her chin in her hand to drive the point home.
"Yeah," he responded. A smug grin began to stretch over his handsome if still boyish face. "Not that I'm not amazing on my own, but someone had to watch my back."
"How fortunate for me," she retorted dryly. "Makes it sound like I'm babysitting you." She felt his hand grasp hers – it was warm and comforting. The feeling spread over her like a quilt.
"Only when I need you to keep me from doing something stupid," he said. In his eyes, she found the truth, and it pleased her. She squeezed his hand back.
"In that case, I do believe we're going to need another person around to keep us both from getting in trouble," she said, smiling back at him. He winked at her.
"What do you think padawans are for?"
"In that case," she responded wryly, "we're doomed. This is our – what? Fourth or fifth mission together? At least the third where one of us was injured. And your poor apprentice is bound to stir up mischief sooner or later, with mine in tow."
"That just means we have to beat them to it!" His hand had never left hers; weapon- coarsened fingers from the other suddenly found the tender flesh just underneath her ribcage. She yelped, more from ticklish fright than from the pain.
"AAHH – Anakin!" she tried to scold him. It was hard to be taken seriously when the only breaths you could take were laced with laughter. And that damn infuriating grin never left his face. She reached down with her other hand to stop his intrusive fingers when they left her side to grasp her fingers.
"You – you know –," she said, regaining her breath. "We could just sit back and let them beat us to it." He winked.
"Now where's the fun in that?"
*******
"I swear I'll kill her if she tries anything like that again!" Barriss seethed. Rex and
Gree looked at each other before looking back across at the raging padawan. They were at a loss for words, especially when dealing with a Jedi who rarely became overly emotional. Even Ahsoka appeared pressed to deal with her.
They were seated in a small break room located off of the main medical bay. All medical staff were out on duty at the moment, affording the foursome some amount of privacy. It was enough where Barriss felt comfortable to vent, a rare occasion that was worth the watch.
Too bad Cody wasn't here to enjoy it.
A dark red spot had merged across her face, sourced from two similarly colored spots that had been on both cheeks. Her facial tattoos were only enhanced by the change. Her eyes, on the other hand, had darkened to the point that everyone present considered establishing a round-the-clock guard for the bedbound Jedi Masters. And Ahsoka had thought she was pissed off.
"Why do they like to act like it's okay when they do it, but when we do it, it's suddenly worse than skipping class?!" Barriss continued her rant.
"Maybe because they have more experience and can handle themselves better?" Gree suggested. He steeled himself against Barriss's hurt look, which he knew she didn't fully mean. As much as it hurt, it was true. A Jedi Master such as Luminara or even a Jedi Knight such as Anakin had had more experience than these two padawans put together. If anyone could handle Grievous without a sweat, it would be those two. Considering that the two Jedi had been injured in the process but escaped with their lives was still a remarkable feat, one that could only be attributed to experience.
"It wasn't as if they intended to get injured, Barriss," Rex added. "But they at least made it out of the encounter alive. Considering Grievous was involved, that's a feat worthy of respect."
"I know," Barriss said. Her posture broke shortly after she finished speaking, resulting in her forearms resting atop the table. Her head came down to rest on them as well, eyes focused on boring into the table in front of her. "I just wish they hadn't gotten injured at all. Given the stress fractures and various other injuries this time around, I'm going to have to force them to remain bedside for at least the next three days." Ahsoka huffed as she sat down next to Barriss, now that the emotional crisis had been adverted.
"So it was exactly like I told Skyguy – we'll be out of commission longer due to their stunts." However, thoughts ran a different trail among their clone comrades.
Two bedbound Jedi Masters for a full three days? This was an opportunity gift-wrapped by the Force itself. Rex and Gree looked at each other in delight and nodded. Time to put their plan into action. They got up, muttered half- hearted excuses under their breaths, and made a beeline for the exit.
*******
Barriss noticed the looks the two clones exchanged with one another as they got up
to leave. She elbowed her friend quickly once the two men exited the room.
"Ugh, what?" Ahsoka whined.
"I think the clones are up to something," she whispered.
"You don't say." If sarcasm had the ability to kill, her friend would have been dead already.
"Shouldn't we do something though?"
"Nope."
"What?"
"Take this as the best opportunity to get blackmail on them."
"But..." Barriss started to protest.
"Remember the blackmail they have on us, not to mention that one dare...?" Her words trailed off.
"You have a point," Barriss grudgingly conceded. Besides, it would be enough work to concentrate on her repeat patients.
*******
"No." Her voice was soft yet firm.
"But –"
"I said no." He liked that about her, even if he didn't agree with her answer.
"I just suggested we sneak out," Anakin whined with a grin. He was too bored to sit there quietly, eyes closed and pretending to sleep like Luminara. Who he was going to make listen to him run his mouth, even if she refused to look at him.
"I'm here to rest and recuperate, Anakin. If you choose to sneak out, I will not stop you."
"But it'll be more fun if both of us do it," he continued. "And it's not sneaking out. It's taking a stroll."
"No."
"You're no fun," he grumped, letting himself fall back into the bed. "I'll just have to escape on my own."
"And why haven't you?" he heard her ask.
"Because you're behaving," he said.
"More like you need someone else to get into trouble with you," she responded. Her tone was drier than Obi-Wan's, but her smile was warmer.
"I wouldn't put it like that," he said, twisting back upright to look at her. It figured she'd open her eyes when she didn't think he was looking. "More like, I need the bonding time." He observed a slim, dark eyebrow raise.
"Uh-huh."
"I do!"
"But we have bonding time right now." She finally met his eyes with her own, still smiling that knowing smile. It had never left her face, even throughout their own little exchange.
"But I don't like where it is," he responded, smirking at her. "The room is too cramped, we're being watched by medical staff twenty-four/seven, and you wouldn't like the activities I can think of."
"I wonder why." Obviously not with that tone of voice. "We could play a game."
"Sabaac?" He eagerly withdrew a deck from underneath his pillow. She looked pointedly at deck.
"How long have you had that hidden?"
"Wrong question." He smirked. "You should be asking where I hid it." He deftly dodged a thrown pillow.
"Deal, smart mouth."
*******
"We're going to get into so much trouble, aren't we?" Gree asked rhetorically. Asked even though he knew the answer. Rhetorically because he didn't expect an answer.
"Relax," Rex said. "Only if we get caught by those two."
"That's not helpful for relaxing," Gree pointed out.
"Shut it," Rex waved a hand at him. "Wow, no wonder we all hate the med bay. With how cold they keep everything, it's amazing anyone can be comfortable." Gree smirked at his friend.
"Well, you better rectify this problem." Rex grinned back.
"Keep an eye on those two while I make things more… comfortable."
*******
Anakin frowned, fingers shuffling the stiff, filmed paper as he looked around.
"What is it?" he heard Luminara ask. He looked back at her.
"Does it seem warmer than usual?"
*******
"All you did was raise it by five degrees," Gree pointed out. "It's not like you should expect an immediate change in their behavior." Rex grumbled.
"What?"
"Get ready to jump another five degrees."
*******
Anakin sometimes hated his attention to detail. He couldn't quite get his attention focused back on his hand, not when a bead of sweat was working its way down his colleague's long, long neck. Her skin was green. Her sweat was not.
That was the third one. Something was up with the heating and cooling system. He should go check.
But watching her sweat was just too captivating.
*******
Luminara fought to keep her eyes on the cards and her skin as flush-free as possible. The beads of sweat weren't just trickling down her neck anymore. If Anakin didn't think she noticed him staring, he had another thing coming.
She knew she should discourage any actions he took. But considering she didn't do anything when they had been back on board, she knew she wouldn't now. Even if she suspected someone was tampering with the temperature switch.
The war was tough enough. This was almost a relief.
*******
"Twenty-five degrees later, and they're still devoted to their sabaac," Rex huffed.
"Give it time," Gree said. "We've only been doing this for, what?" He glanced quickly at the clock. "Two-and-a-half hours? Okay," he blinked. Yeah, they hadn't been raising the temperature by much, but the temperature was warmer, warm enough where both Jedi were sweating obviously and profusely. Good thing the rest of the med bay was unaffected, because he didn't think he could withstand the heat long enough to observe what was going to happen. Or what Rex thought was going to happen. He saw the other clone raise his hand again. "How much you raising it by?"
"Don't ask," Rex grumbled.
*******
It was driving him crazy, seeing her sweat. He could feel himself heat up in response, and he knew it was more than just sweating.
*******
She didn't think his jaw had ever looked as handsome as it did now, illuminated by the beads of sweat blooming along the very edge of it. That and their proximity seemed closer than it had been at the start of the hand. Was he making a move on her?
If he was, she certainly hoped to not be disappointed.
*******
"You know what our problem is?" Gree asked.
"What?"
"We never dimmed the lights." Rex visibly perked up.
"As long as we can still see the two of them…"
*******
"I think we left them alone long enough," Barriss said, rising.
"Agreed."
*******
Once they got into the medbay, they knew where to find the clones. Both padawans knew once they got there that the clones knew they were there. That was fine with them. They could glare at Rex and Gree, and sooner or later they'd find out the truth. Neither wanted to look at their respective master, in case they saw something requiring them to say something, or worse, step in.
"What are you two doing?" Both girls chorused aloud, each voice matching the other's in frustration and anxiety.
"We're just running an experiment," Gree said, his face carefully blank.
"For what purpose?!" Barriss and Ahsoka glared up at him in unison.
"We wanted to determine if heat was a factor that would induce changes in a Jedi General's behavior, and if so to determine what form those changes would take," Gree stated flawlessly. Rex was proud. Gree was holding up under pressure better than expected. Both padawans turned their glares simultaneously to Rex.
"We wanted to see if raising the temperature on the generals would produce certain... results," Rex said carelessly, ignoring the facepalming Gree.
"What kind of… oh Force," Barriss said weakly. Both padawans turned an interesting shade of red.
"I'm too young for this!" Ahsoka squeaked.
"I will be scarred for life!" Barriss buried her face in her hands.
"But it will answer the question if the Generals are together or not!" Rex pointed out. He sounded too happy.
*******
"I think we have an audience." Anakin said. He looked positively tormented, which she would laugh at if not for her being part of the same predicament. Trouble was, they couldn't escape as per their usual. They were supposed to be resting and recuperating. That was when she got an idea. She'd be sure to blame him later.
"I sense a trap," she smirked back at him. "Next step?"
"Spring the trap," he mumbled into her neck. As always, faster than she expected.
*******
"I can't look!" Barriss squeaked, turning away. Ahsoka wanted to do the same, but her eyes were riveted.
Those two... they made her and Rex look like children. Anakin had crossed from one bed to the other in record time, but that speed vanished as soon as he and the Mirialan locked lips. Now everything that was taking placed appeared to be in slowest motion possible. Where her master's hands were going... what Luminara was doing in response... she couldn't help but watch – and take notes. And, from the corner of her eye, she saw Barriss turn back around and watch with her. She glanced sharply behind her to see two beet red clones. Especially Rex - he looked ready to keel over.
She whipped her head back around at a gasp. It was Luminara, and - oh Force, was Anakin really putting his hand -
Suddenly, the scene before her darkened, and the visage of the two lovers was gone. She looked over, seeing Barriss tap determinedly away at the controls. "What the hell?"
"They deserve their privacy," Barriss said, "as much as you and Rex do." With the way her jaw tightened, though, Ahsoka knew her best friend wasn't thinking of her right at the moment. Before she could do anything, though, Barriss turned and walked out of the med bay.
"Barriss..."
"She misses Cody. A lot," she turned to face the speaker, "a lot more than you realize." Gree sighed. "I'm going to make sure this section will be left alone for a couple hours." He turned and walked off. Ahsoka was never more aware of herself than she was now, coupled with two things:
First, she needed to be there for Barriss, more than she had realized.
Second, she needed a certain someone to help her practice what she just witnessed. She was seriously lacking in any ability to make a certain someone react to her like that.
"Rex?"
"Yes?"
"I trust you saw what I saw?" She heard him snort.
"If we haven't gone blind, then yes." She rolled her eyes.
"I trust you're taking notes?"
"What? I mean, yes!"
"You want to engage in some practice?"
He was pulling her along a little too fast for her taste, but she knew she would appreciate his enthusiasm later.
*******
"Are they gone?" His hand wasn't.
"Yes." She didn't sound satisfied enough for his liking.
"Well, they almost ruined that for us. I thought they were going to demand we finish right in front of them." Not that that would have been a problem. A punishment fitting the crime, so to speak.
"Shame," she whispered into his ear. "They're missing out on a very interesting ending." One he was intent on finishing, with many variations.
"Yes they are." Lips locked lips, flesh flushed into flesh, and for the first time in weeks, both Jedi were finding a useful outlet for their stress.