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Kote groaned and slumped against the wall. The slick surface was cool behind his head, something he found himself extremely grateful for at that moment. He couldn’t tell if his heightened body temperature was from the physical exertion he’d just put himself through or from his lingering embarrassment; he supposed it was probably a combination of the two.
What was it the sergeant had said? “2224, if you think what you’re doing is considered acceptable leadership for a commanding officer, you can expect to join the cast-offs in maintenance before the year’s out.”
It wasn’t true, of course. Kote knew that the Kaminoans didn’t like to decommission any of the commander class unless absolutely necessary, and up until this point, he’d been one of the best in practically everything. Still, the sergeant’s words had made his gut twist with nerves, and he hadn’t dared to so much as look at any of his squadmates. They hadn’t gotten yelled at like that. Just him.
He was too quiet, according to his trainers, and for the first time he found himself agreeing. It’d been his first time leading a squad in a training exercise; the three-year-olds he’d been assigned to had been eager to learn from him and Kote knew that he’d disappointed them. They’d watched with wide eyes as the red-faced sergeant berated him and afterwards, they’d quietly filed behind him back to the barracks with none of the enthusiasm they’d displayed before.
Well, all except one. The little blond cadet, Rex, had tripped behind Kote with cheerful oblivion to the older cadet’s mood, chattering away about how amazing the exercise had been and how much he had learned.
Kote groaned again. Now that he thought about it, he should have listened more closely to Rex so he could know how to improve. That was a crucial part of any exercise - to analyze one’s performance and adjust accordingly. Maybe he should go back to the barracks and ask Rex for his input again.
As if on cue, the door cracked open and a distinctive blond head poked around it.
“Hey, Kote, whatcha doing in a maintenance closet?”
“Thinking,” Kote said shortly, a fresh wave of embarrassment washing over him.
He wasn’t thinking, he was sulking, and he really hoped Rex didn’t notice. Sulking wasn’t appropriate behavior for a commander.
“Ah,” Rex said and, opening the door wider, stared at Kote thoughtfully for a moment. “Can I think with you?”
Kote blinked in surprise and nodded, moving over to give Rex space to plop down next to him. The two boys sat in silence for a few moments.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Rex finally said.
“Um.” Kote glanced at the other cadet. “Stuff.”
“Sure,” Rex said knowingly. “You’re thinkin’ about how you got yelled at.”
Kote scrunched up his face in irritation. Frowning a little, Rex reached over to pat his shoulder.
“We didn’t expect you to be perfect,” he said. “You’re still a cadet, too! You’re barely older than me. So there’s no way you were gonna be perfect.”
The sincerity in the younger cadet’s face made Kote’s heart soften a little. “Thanks, Rex.”
“‘Course!” Rex leaned back again and wriggled his shoulders against the hard wall. “I’m the odd one out in my squad, too.”
“I’m not the odd one out,” Kote said quickly. Rex raised an eyebrow at him and Kote decided it would be better not to push it. “Why are you? Is it ‘cause of your hair?”
“Yeah,” Rex sighed. “Everyone says I’ve got a mutation.”
“Well, yeah, blond hair is a mutation,” Kote said. “It’s a good one, though, it makes you stand out. It’ll be easier for your troops to recognize you once you’re an officer.”
“Yeah?”
Kote smiled and nodded, noticing how Rex’s face lit up at the confirmation. The younger cadet sighed again, happily this time, and scooted closer to Kote.
“They’re gonna put me in special training and they said you’re gonna be there, so I was s’posed to pay extra careful attention to you today,” Rex said confidentially. “I thought you did a pretty good job, especially ‘cause it was your first time.”
Kote shook his head. “I didn’t, but thanks anyways.”
“You did.” Rex scooted closer still. “Can we be friends? None of my squad is going into special training with me.”
Warmth filled Kote’s chest. “Sure, kih’vod.”
“Yeah!” Rex pumped his fist. “It’ll be better with a friend. I was real worried that I was gonna be all by myself.”
“We’ll stick close to each other if they let us,” Kote promised. Rex’s face fell a little, and Kote hesitated before adding, “And even if they don’t, I’ll still be your friend. I’ll be there, at least. And we can talk outside of training, and I’ll show you some of the higher-level stuff so you can get caught up.”
“Really?” Rex threw his arms around Kote. “You’re the best ori’vod ever.”
“No problem,” Kote smiled, hugging the younger cadet back. He felt a lot better now that he knew Rex, at least, had so much confidence in him.
Rex pulled away and grinned widely. “We’re gonna be best friends, aren’t we?”