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Kanan felt uneasy as he and the others climbed into the old Republic AT-TE.
If there was anything he hated more than anything, it was clones. The clones that turned against the Jedi at the end of the Clone Wars. The clones that shot his Master down and came after him.
"Hey, you alright?"
Kanan snapped out of his thoughts to find the leading clone earlier, Rex, as he remembered, clasping a hand on his shoulder. He glared down at him and shrugged the hand off.
"I'm fine." he huffed and moved forward.
"Hey, I was just checking," Rex rolled his eyes. "Ya look like you were thinking of something deeply,"
"None of your business, clone," Kanan growled and turned away.
This was gonna be a LONG day...
X
Kanan sighed as he sat down from a balcony and watched the sunset.
The Phantom was busted, so Sabine had to fix it. They were forced to stay with the clones for a night or two, much to Ezra's delight. He and Zeb helped Gregor cut down the Joopa that they hunted down earlier that day.
"You still thinking?" Kanan groaned and rolled his eyes, turning to face Rex. Again.
"What's it to you?" he growled, sounding meaner than he had aimed for (which was saying something).
"And you're still grumpy, fanatastic," Rex let out another chuckle. "May I sit by you?"
Kanan wanted to oppose, but who was he to do that when he was practically sitting in the clones' retirement home? Instead, he moved aside and crossed his arms.
Rex grinned and moved to sit by the Jedi. He slumped back with a sigh, arms behind his neck as he leaned back on the nearest wall.
"Well, I have to admit, this is a great view,"
"Yeah, it is," Kanan shrugged.
There was comfortable moment of silence between them. Rex had closed his eyes and was so relaxed at the presence of the sun setting in the sky as twilight came. Kanan shifted in his seat, eyes glaring over at the clone.
"What do you want?"
Rex hummed in thought before he opened his eyes.
"Honestly? Just for you to loosen up,"
"That's not possible," Kanan growled, turning away. "You know what you all did,"
Rex glanced over at the Jedi then he sighed. He straightened up and cracked his knuckles then he turned to face the other.
"I almost did,"
"Yeah, 'almost' is a good term," Kanan snarled. "Your Jedi is Vader,"
"Yes... but I'm talking about Ahsoka," Rex sighed. "I almost killed her. She was able to remove my inhibitor chip, and we were both able to escape,"
Kanan turned his head at him, confused. "What chip?"
"The one that was placed inside of us to keep us from being possessed by the Sith," Rex bitterly chuckled. "Ironic since it was also used for a Sith to kill the Jedi, huh?"
"My Master never told me anything about the clones having a chip," Kanan's eyebrows furrowed. "I just thought that they were immune to the Force being used on them,"
"Really?" Rex turned to him an amused look. "You must've been really young back then,"
"Well," Kanan sighed. "I was,"
Rex's look dropped into a frown. He moved closer towards the Jedi and clasped a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry,"
Kanan felt something strange in his stomach as he looked over to see the clone giving him a sincere look of sympathy. He squirmed around a bit before standing up.
"I..." He wanted to say something, but his gut was too uncomfortable to say anything, so he just turned and left the clone.
He headed into the Phantom, which was empty since he heard Sabine joining Ezra, Zeb, Gregor and Wolffe for dinner, and sat on the pilot's seat, groaning. The strange feeling in his stomach was still there but faded. It was stronger when he was with Rex, and he had no idea why.
'What's happening to me...?'
X
"Can you leave me alone?"
"Kanan, you've been avoiding me since I came to the Rebellion," Rex folded his arms. "even more so when we were in Seelos,"
"Just... leave me be, PLEASE." Kanan snarled with a deep, desperate glare at the clone as he felt the butterflies running through his stomach again.
It had been a week since Seelos and since Rex came to the Rebellion. Kanan had the weird feeling in his stomach every time he was with the clone captain, and it was frustrating. He had asked Hera about it, and the Twi'lek did a spit-take before face-palming and flatly answering him;
He was in LOVE.
This had led him into his room for a five-hour meditation. He was practically panicking, reciting the Jedi Order's rule against attachment and reciting what the clones had done to his Master. He was in deep fear and panic that Zeb had to literally ripped down his door and drag him out for him to eat with them.
Since then, he had been avoiding the clone like a plague. Whenever they went to Phoenix Home, and Kanan and Hera had to chat with Ahsoka and Sato, Kanan was desperate to slip out as soon as Rex would come and join them.
How was he gonna get out of this one?
"No, Kanan," Rex sounded firm, eyes staring up at the Jedi sternly. "You've been avoiding me enough, and if you think that I'm gonna drop the issue easily, you're wrong,"
"WHY ARE YOU SO DESPERATE TO KNOW WHY I'M AVOIDING YOU?!" Kanan bellowed, lacking control of himself in an instant.
"Why are YOU so desperate to avoid me?!" Rex growled back.
Kanan felt his face heat up, whether in rage or in embarrassment, he'll never know, as he turned away and huffed. "You KNOW why I'm avoiding you. I HATE you,"
"Really?" Rex didn't look like he believed him a word the Jedi was saying. "If you hate me then why didn't you finish me off when Wolffe called the Empire? Why didn't you just ignore me whenever I came into the room to discuss about the missions? No, Kanan, you couldn't stand me in the room not because you hate me. I know the aura of hate,"
"I DON'T KRIFFING GIVE A DAMN!" Kanan roared out, turning to him with eyes that could burn. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M FEELING EVERY TIME I'M AROUND YOU! HOW I FEEL SO WEIRD INSIDE WHEN I'M AROUND YOU! I TRIED TO ASK WHAT IT WAS, AND DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWER I GOT?! I'M FREAKING IN LOVE WITH YOU, THAT'S WHAT!"
"You... what?" Rex's eyes widened, face reddening to his ears.
Kanan's stomach dropped, eyes widening in horror and in realization. "Oh, Force."
"You're... in love with me?"
Now he wanted to throw himself off the ship.
"I..." Kanan gulped and groaned, hiding his face in his hands as he slid down the wall and hugged his knees. "Oh, Force, I messed up..."
Rex frowned and slowly sat down beside the Jedi. He waited for the other to calm down a bit before turning to him with a smile.
"What's wrong?"
"Jedi... no attachments... clones..." Kanan shook his head. "Everything is wrong,"
"Eh, it's not so bad," Rex shrugged and gently cupped his chin, lifting it slowly to face him. "We'll figure things out, right?"
Kanan blinked at him for a while before turning away. "I should hate you,"
"Do you?" Rex raised an eyebrow.
"..." Kanan sighed and leaned against the clone. "...no,"
"Good," Rex grinned and held the other close. "Nor do I,"