Work Text:
Ahsoka sighed as she slid onto a bench, datapad in hand. The quiet sounds seemed loud in the otherwise silent common room of the base. She rubbed her temples and willed herself to get to work. It wasn’t that Ahsoka minded being up later than anyone else on the ship; more and more as she grew older she appreciated the stillness of night. But the never ending reports! Somehow, even though everything changed when the war ended, Ahsoka still managed to have reports to write, and she wished for one night to just enjoy the quiet. She would love to read a holonovel, maybe have a cup of tea and cozy up, maybe a quiet conversation with a friend. She found her thoughts drifting to Rex, as they did so often these days. Ahsoka let them wander. Only for a moment, she told herself.
As if summoned, Rex wandered into the common room not 10 minutes later, datapad in hand. Ahsoka was, by that time, actually working.
“Mind if I join you?” Rex waved his data pad and slid into the booth next to Ahsoka, not waiting for an answer. Ahsoka smiled at him.
“This feels like old times. You and me, the empty mess, and a pile of reports—how many nights do you think that happened?”
Rex chuckled. “Too many to count. And you whined at every one.”
“I did not!” Ahsoka was indignant, though she suspected it was true.
“Always did hate reports.”
“Remember that time Fives lost a bet and had to write mine for a week?”
“Two days of the worst reports in GAR history,” Rex laughed, but only briefly.
“Echo had to take over,” Ahsoka finished quietly, and each became silent as old grief, never really gone, settled between them.
“I still miss them all so much,” Ahsoka finally admitted, wondering whether she had the energy to process this sadness with Rex tonight. She had just returned from a tedious mission and was ready for rest.
“You and me both, kid,” Rex responded.
Ahsoka saw an opportunity to lighten the mood. “Rex, I’m nearly 40. I think you can stop calling me kid now. I'm older than you and I’m pretty sure I’m taller than you now.” She flashed him a grin that could only be described as wicked. But Rex didn’t seem to pick up on her mood.
“Maybe because I’m stooping with age. This rapidly decaying body of mine. Damn Kaminoans.”
“Rex, there is nothing wrong with that body of yours.” Rex’s head snapped up. Ahsoka had muttered the words and he was almost uncertain he heard right, but there was a glint in her eye as she archly pretended to work on her datapad. Rex took in her brash expression and the darkening of her montrals. He was surprised—but pleasantly so.
“Ahsoka, did you—are you—flirting with me? That’s new.”
Ahsoka huffed and shook her head but a smile stole over her face. “It’s really not, Rex. I’ve just gotten more bold.” Rex just stared, eyebrows raised in question, and Ahsoka found herself speaking again. “You were my best friend and a strong, handsome warrior and I was a teenager , Jedi code or no. Of course I had a crush on you, Rexter. I thought it had faded but when I came back, when we took off to Mandalor, there it was again.” She shrugged. “Only by then I was an adult and I wasn’t a Jedi so I thought maybe— Anyway, what did you think all that posturing about not needing a jet pack was?”
“Bravado? Jedi-crazy? Not flirting .” Rex drew his eyebrows into a slight frown. “I’m sorry, Soka. I hope I didn’t seem unkind. I had no idea.”
Ahsoka smiled and shrugged again. “Why would you have? I was a Jedi. We were at war. I was your CO . I never considered pursuing anything. At least, up until Mandalor.”
“And then everything changed so quickly.” Ahsoka nodded. Rex was once again silent, but scooted just a little closer, his arm dangling over the back of the bench between them. His hand hovered by her bare upper arm, close enough Ahsoka could feel just a hint of his warmth. She felt a thrill run down her spine at his nearness, despite scolding herself for feeling like a teen again.
Quietly, his voice low, Rex continued. “I felt something change then, too. When you showed up with Bo-Katan, as we headed off with the 332nd. It was—I didn’t know how to define it but it was thrilling.”
Ahsoka smiled at him, trying to keep her face neutral, despite the way she felt her heart beat in her montrals as their eyes met. “What about now?”
Rex smirked in response and quipped, “You mean now I know you’ve had a crush on me for 20 years ?” But he brushed the backs of his fingers over her arm absentmindedly.
Ahsoka batted his hand away playfully while outwardly ignoring the way that simple affectionate gesture made her feel. “Don’t get so smug. It was just a crush.” She hesitated. “But it could be something more. Now.”
Rex’s smug expression shifted to an earnest smile. “Soka, I’m honored. And I’d love to explore this with you.” Rex’s face lit with a quiet joy she knew was reflected on her own.
Until Rex’s smirk crept back. “Especially since I know you’re so into my body.” He preened ostentatiously; Ahsoka just rolled her eyes.
“Alright, guess I’ll go back to my report,” she replied and turned back toward the table, picking up the datapad she had set down earlier. Rex grinned.
”Alright, reports,” Rex conceded. But he slipped his arm around Ahsoka and she settled into his side comfortably, both marveling at how easily their long friendship seemed to transition into something new. And yet both felt also as though the shift was natural, inevitable as the ripening of a meliroon fruit in the summer sun.
The reports took a little longer than usual that night, what with all the stolen glances, but for once, Ahsoka didn’t mind the task at all.