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Four days. Four days they spent in a near-continuous battle. Ahsoka is pretty sure she's never been this exhausted, and she spent the second half of the battle holed up on the starship.
Others were not so lucky.
As the gunships began returning, Ahsoka watched as exhausted clones practically dragged themselves off the transports. Covered in blood, sweat, and dirt, some discard broken pieces of their duraplast armor straight onto the hanger floor. She spots Rex practically stumble out of a gunship, and runs down to meet him.
When she runs toward him, he removes his helmet, tucking it under his arm. Ahsoka is shocked by how tired the captain looks. Dark bags make his brown eyes look sunken in and his posture is much more slumped than usual.
"Good to see ya, Commander," he says wearily.
"How did the battle go?" she asks, still bitter that Master Skywalker forced her to return to the ship so early into the battle. So what if she had been shot in the leg? Master Kenobi fights through blaster shots and debilitating injuries every other battle and she doesn't see him trudging back to the med bay in the middle of a fight.
"Lost a lot of men. Took out way more clankers though."
She smiles. "Skyguy and Master Obi-Wan make it back in one piece?"
To her surprise, Rex smiles with amusement. "You know the generals. Refused to rest the entire four cycles."
"They didn't sleep... at all?" she groans. This is not at all surprising. Anakin and Obi-Wan are practically the poster children for over-exertion.
"Well..." Rex trails off, stepping aside. Ahsoka looks past him into the gunship he just stepped off of and she nearly squeals in delight.
Master Kenobi sits on the bench in the gunship, his robes caked in dirt and streaks of burn marks. His hair is in complete disarray-- a rare sight-- and he's slumped against the wall. Fast asleep. If that weren't an amusing enough sight, Anakin has his head nestled on Obi-Wan's shoulder and his body pressed against his side. His mouth hangs open and a small string of drool is rolling down his chin as he snores softly.
So often the generals are in constant movement. Skywalker is infamous for being "always on the move" as Obi-Wan likes to muse, and Obi-Wan has his own reputation for not knowing where his limits are. To see them still like this is something Ahsoka isn't used to but she wishes it were a more frequent sight. They both look so peaceful. So untroubled. When they sleep the signs of war that have worn at the two Jedi seem to vanish. If they weren't covered in dust and blood Ahsoka would believe they'd never seen a single horror in their lives.
"Please tell me someone took a holovid," she says, looking back at Rex who looks similarly relieved to see the two generals deep in slumber.
"We made sure it was... well documented, sir."
Rex excuses himself to his own barracks and Ahsoka stands in front of the gunship just watching the sleeping master and padawan for a few more moments. The hanger is nearly cleared out and the last of the ships have arrived. She has the next set of orders from the council which thankfully dictate a good few days in hyperspace to reach their destination. Perfect timing.
Anakin rolls more onto his side, his arm looping under Obi-Wan's so it looks like he's cradling it to his chest. Ahsoka stifles her laughter, taking one last look before heading back up to the bridge to give the orders.
Obi-Wan awakes with horrid headache, a crick in his neck, and the feeling of something heavy pressed against his side. He groans, going to raise his arm to massage his aching temples but he finds it's pinned down. Curiosity breaks through his desire to go back to sleep and he opens one eye.
To his dismay, he finds that he isn't in his bunk. In fact, he isn't even lying down. He's still sitting on the gunship. Obi-Wan looks to his side and finds the source of his lack of arm mobility-- Anakin seems to have made himself comfortable by using Obi-Wan as a pillow.
From the drool on Obi-Wan's sleeve, he suspects his former padawan is at least having a pleasant slumber.
He has half a mind to push Anakin off of him, make some snarky comment, and return to his bunk. However, when he looks at the young knight resting peacefully on his shoulder his desire to wake him up dwindles.
My quarters are dreadfully far away from the hanger. Obi-Wan thinks, shifting carefully to a more comfortable position. It would be awfully rude to wake up Anakin. He must be so tired. Obi-Wan rests his head against the top of Anakin's head and closes his eyes. I'll just rest my eyes for a few minutes and then wake him up.
The sound of morning announcements ringing through the ship interrupts the pleasant dream Anakin was having that involved Padmé in a certain outfit that left little to the imagination. Weird. The announcements usually aren't this loud in my quarters. He opens his eyes, expecting to see the darkness of his room but instead is met with the vibrant lights of the hanger.
The hanger?
Anakin then realizes that he's not lying on a pillow but in the crook of a shoulder. Obi-Wan's shoulder.
Slight embarrassment warms Anakin's cheeks until he peels himself off of his former master and realizes that Obi-Wan is also fast asleep, his arm slung lazily over Anakin's shoulders and his head tipped back. To be honest, the position looks quite uncomfortable, but neither the announcements nor Anakin stirring woke up the Jedi Master.
Judging by the stiffness of his neck and the fact that the breakfast menu is being read off, Anakin suspects they've been here all night. He scoots over to give the other Jedi some room and slowly jabs at Obi-Wan's side, poking him in the ribs into his former master finally wakes.
"Wha-- Anakin," his Core accent is thick with drowsiness. "What... what in blazes are you doin'?"
"We fell asleep, Master."
Obi-Wan closes his eyes once more and then opens them, glancing around the gunship. "It appears so." He pulls himself up into a sitting position, twisting his trunk to cause a cascade of popping noises up his spine. They don't say anything for a long moment. They just sit there, both staring into space as the grogginess begins to fade. Finally, Obi-Wan pulls himself to his feet. "I say we both return to our quarters for some real sleep."
Anakin also stands, ignoring the soreness in his legs. "I agree with that idea."
They step off the gunship and start walking toward the barracks. With every step, Anakin grows more excited to collapse into his bunk.
"They really ought to make gunships more comfortable," Obi-Wan says, stretching his neck.
"I found it quite pleasant actually."
"That's because you were drooling on my shoulder and not a durasteel wall."
Anakin chuckles, his cheeks once again red with embarrassment.
"Next time you can sleep on my shoulder, Master."
"I truly hope the circumstances will not arise for there to be a next time, my young padawan."
They reach their quarters, which are situated across the corridor from one another. After exchanging final quips they part ways to their respective rooms.
Sleep comes easily.