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Rex wasn't envious of his vod. Nope, not at all.
Alright, maybe he was a little envious.
Rex didn't know the details of how Cody and General Kenobi got together. But what he did know was that they got together just before that whole awful incident in the Kadavo system.
Rex wasn’t envious... At least that’s what he kept telling himself, but he completely understood what Cody saw in the man.
Rex himself had spent far too much of their captivity on Kadavo together, staring dreamily at the firm lines of Kenobi's body; far too much time thinking about Kenobi’s genuine kindness towards the other slaves; and far too much time thinking about how the man stood up to the guards despite their situation. Watching him try to protect and help all those the colonists made Rex’s heart race with a deep yearning.
Even when Kenobi failed, his integrity shone through. He wasn't just a good Jedi... he was a good man. Rex himself had been a soldier long enough – seen enough of the galaxy – to know that a man like this was not common.
So when Rex had first found out through the command gossip text-group that Cody and the General were an item, deep down he was envious. But he was also glad that if it was someone, it was his favorite vod: Cody.
Cody was a good man who always did his best with the horrible situations they all faced. It was Cody out there saving as many brothers as he could, despite that their lives meant so little to those they protected. It was Cody and General Kenobi's tactics and scheming and late night strategies that saved so many Vode from the worst of what they faced.
Maybe the two of them deserved each other. Two strong, good men, fighting side-by-side. It should have been beautiful to Rex. Instead, he was just a little upset that Rex hadn’t been the one General Kenobi had chosen.
But Rex loved Cody. Cody didn’t just protect the Vode. He stood by Rex and helped Rex grow and achieve the best he could be, no matter what they faced. So Rex had resigned himself to feeling happy for his vod. Maybe he’d even congratulate Cody.
Cody deserved to be happy.
But then, Cody had started walking around with the most horrible, smug expressions every time Rex saw him. And Rex loved his vod to death, but every time he saw those smug looks he was tempted to challenge Cody to a spar on the mats, just so he could take that bastard down a peg or two.
It was more than enough to know Cody and Kenobi were getting busy together off-duty, his vod didn't need to rub it in Rex's face every time he saw him as well.
...Not that most of the Vode would think Cody's expressions looked much different from normal. Rex knew differently though. He'd known Cody for almost all of his fifteen short years, and Cody's current expressions were looser, his eyebrows more smug and his eyes more devious than usual.
And that expression pushed Rex’s yearning into annoyance.
Once the 501st had taken the colonists back to Kiros, they'd had to return General Kenobi to the 212th as well.
Rex hadn't seen much of Kenobi on that trip back. The man had spent most of the time in a bacta tank. Rex himself had been spared any serious physical injuries. Kenobi had taken on the brunt of Rex's punishments, the man had even redirected the slavers to help Rex avoid beatings. As a result, Rex hadn’t needed a stay in a tank.
That had been a stroke of luck for Rex, not only because the tank could then be used for another vod who needed it more, but because it gave him cause to avoid Kenobi.
It wasn't that he didn't want to see the man. He was just a bit nervous about what he would reveal if he ended up talking to him off of the battlefield.
By the time the Resolute met up with the Negotiator and the 212th, Kenobi had only been out of his bacta tank for one ship-cycle. Luckily for Rex, Anakin had been clingy enough with his former Master during that last day, that Rex hadn't even had to interact with the General until the man had to move back to his own Star Destroyer.
When the shuttle from the Negotiator landed in the hangar bay, Rex was ready and waiting to send Kenobi off. He would use the excuse of sending off the High General Kenobi with a standing-salute in order to hide his face under his helmet. That meant, he wouldn’t even have to make eye-contact with the man.
But before the General arrived, the General’s incoming shuttle landed and opened up. And the last person he’d expected to see climbed out.
“Rex,” Cody said with as much cheer as Cody had ever did. His vod stepped down and moved towards him, helmet in hand. Cody stopped next to him, looking off towards the front of the bay, watching and waiting for his General. He’d expected Cody to stay on the Negotiator to wait for his General, but maybe he should have guessed that Cody would want to stop and see Rex before collecting Kenobi.
“Why are you still wearing your bucket?” Cody turned to look at him, his scar wrinkling as his brow furrowed.
Unwritten Vode rules meant that when you saw a close brother or batchmate – and you weren't in a combat situation – you took off your helmet so you could see the other was physically alright.
Reluctantly, Rex took off his bucket, hoping the flush on his neck wasn't too noticeable.
Cody's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly before he turned back towards the cargo bay doors. “Haven't seen you in a while. Heard Kadavo was a giant mess.”
Rex hadn't talked to Cody face-to-face since he'd found out about his vod and General Kenobi. He'd been worried he would give too much away. Cody knew him far too well. So he’d used any excuse to stay away from either of them.
“I'm alright,” Rex answered the unasked question slowly. “Kenobi went through a lot though. He may need some support for the next little while.”
“You think it was bad enough to need to worry about battle fatigue?” Cody frowned slightly.
Rex hummed affirmative. The battle on Kiros hadn’t been that violent and the fighting on Kavado wasn’t what Rex was worried about, but rather the mental and emotional after effects of their slavery. Especially of how the guilt of what had happened might play on the General's psyche. But he wasn’t about to tell Cody that. What had happened to Kenobi wasn't Rex’s story to tell.
Cody changed the topic after a few moments of silence, and the two of them chatted lightly about command issues for a little while.
Finally, a freshly healed General Kenobi, as well Rex's own General – General Skywalker – appeared through the hangar bay doors.
“Rex, there you are!” Anakin called as he got closer.
“Were you looking for me, sir?” Generally, Anakin Skywalker didn't have to search if he wanted to find Rex. Apparently, Jedi could find people through the Force. And being the powerhouse that he was, Skywalker didn't really need to search for Rex. He always seemed to know just where Rex was.
Anakin shook his head. “The 212th is shipping out for Syngia, while the 501st is headed back to Kamino to refuel and resupply. Since we’re not headed into any conflict, I told Obi-Wan that he could have you and Torrent Company for a little extra firepower and support.”
Rex internally shuddered at the term resupply, knowing it meant the 501st needed to pick up some more Shinies from Kamino. As if the Vode were just another kind of supply to be loaded onto the ship when they were low.
“Yes sir,” Rex said glumly. Despite the unconscious slight of the Vode being referred to as supplies, Rex wished he was going with them. The rest of the 501st would get to have a break and go visit home, while Rex and Torrent company would be sent to another battlefield. On top of which, Rex would be trapped on a ship with two men he was incredibly envious of. “I'll round up the rest of Torrent Company and get them over to the Negotiator, General.”
“Thank-you Captain,” Kenobi said with a heartfelt smile.
Rex felt like his stomach was in his throat. “Of course sir.”
And if his voice was a little rough, no one else seemed to notice.
Torrent Company had been on the Negotiator often enough that they were able to get settled in without Rex's help.
Which meant he was more or less expected on the bridge at Cody's side, as soon as he got onboard.
“Hey,” Cody said when he entered the bridge. “You eaten yet this cycle?”
Rex blinked in surprise. He was expecting to walk into an intense planning meeting on how they were going to take Syngia. He wasn’t expecting a quiet, lightly-manned bridge, with Cody standing around, seemingly bored.
“Not in the last six hours.” Rex answered.
“Great, let's go get some grub.”
Cody sat them down at one of the long tables in the mess hall, not far from where Captain Niall, Lieutenant Waxer, and Sergeants Boil and Wooley were eating.
Rex was tense when he and Cody first began eating the terrible food, but he began to relax as Cody started talking about shift coordination and the prank war some of the 212th were engaged in.
Rex was just about done with his horrible ration gruel when Cody finally brought up exactly what Rex didn't want to talk about.
“So, have you heard who’s been keeping me warm at night?” Cody asked suggestively, raising his right eyebrow.
Rex blanched. “Cody, there has to be a better way to say that!”
Cody pursed his lips, as if to stop himself from smirking.
“Yes, I've heard.” Rex sighed, irritably.
“Well then, as my closest vod, you should know that it's your responsibility to give Obi-Wan the shovel talk.”
“What are you talking about?” Rex asked, confused.
“Well, when Bly finally got with his General, her former Master, General Vos gave him the 'shovel talk'.”
“I still can't believe Bly finally got off his shebs and told Secura how he feels,” Rex snorted.
Cody gave him a look of incredulity, then shook his head in exasperation and continued. “Vos told Bly that if he ever broke Aayla Secura's heart, there wouldn't be a hole deep enough to bury his dead body.”
“So by shovel you mean...” Rex tilted his head, brows furrowed.
“You need to go tell Obi-Wan that if he breaks my heart, you're going to kill him and bury his body with a shovel, yes.” Cody said matter of factly.
Boil, a couple seats down, let out a loud sputtering laugh and then began to choke on his gruel.
Waxer whacked the man on the back, hard. “Just ignore us, Commander,” he said cheerfully.
Cody turned away, gracefully taking Waxer’s statement at face value.
“So, will you give General Kenobi the talk, Rex?” Cody teased, his eyes full of a mischief not often seen in them. “Since you are my closest vod and all.”
Rex's eyes narrowed. “I'm not going to talk to your boyfriend about anything related to the two of you. And the only thing you’re going to get by pressing the issue is a one-way trip to the mats, Codes.”
The corner of Cody's mouth quirked up. “Like you could beat me in a spar, vod. Who do you think trained you?”
“Alpha-17,” Rex said dryly, knowing that Alpha could school Cody on the mats. Alpha didn't have Cody's brain for strategy and organization, but he was one of the Vode’s best fighters.
Cody scoffed. “Exactly. You forget Rexy, Alpha taught me too, and he taught me for much longer than he did you.”
Rex narrowed his eyes, not liking the note of arrogance in Cody’s voice. “How about we settle this on the mats then?” He was very aware that Cody's men were listening in, and he wasn't interested in this conversation getting spread around to more of the Vode. He could do without other Vode teasing him about giving Kenobi this ‘shovel talk’. If he could distract them with a spar between two Commanding officers though, they might forget what Cody had been talking about in the first place.
Cody let out a low laugh. His laugh was even stranger to hear than seeing the outright mischief dancing in his vod's eyes. Cody usually presented a very serious face to the rest of the Galaxy. Kenobi seemed to be a bad influence on him. “Alright. You’re on vod. I won’t go easy on you.”
“There should be a wager!” Niall cut in.
“Shut up Niall,” Cody said with good humor, not looking away from Rex. Cody was very competitive. And now that the idea of a wager had been suggested, there was no way they were going to spar without some kind of horrible punishment for the loser.
That didn't mean Rex wasn't going to try and escape such a punishment beforehand. “We'll spar for bragging rights.”
Cody ignored Rex, “Niall does bring up a good point,” Cody continued with fake, placid innocence. “If I win, you have to give Obi-Wan the shovel talk. If you win, I won't bring it up again.”
“Fine.” Rex nodded proudly, raising his head high.
He was going to have to give this his all. He needed to win this spar.
About twenty minutes later, in the large workout room, Rex and Cody were both stripped down to the bottom half of their blacks, barefoot.
Word had spread quickly that a fight was going down between the Commander and Captain Rex from the 501st. As many Vode that could, showed up, packing themselves around the walls of the large room to watch.
Rex stretched and then turned to face Cody.
Cody was more experienced in fighting hand-to-hand, so Rex would have to be as unpredictable as possible.
Cody made his first move as they began circling each other. He stepped forward, sending a quick jab with his right fist that Rex was easily able to knock away with his lower forearm and elbow.
Cody was testing Rex; testing his reflexes.
The next time Cody stepped up, Rex slapped Cody in the face. Then using the momentary shock of the slap, he ducked down and swept his foot out and into his vod’s leg, trying to send Cody flat onto the mat.
Cody used the momentum of his fall and windmiled his arms so he fell forward and right onto Rex, taking both of them down.
Rex panted, pushing against his vod’s heavy torso.
Cody wound his right shoulder back and punched Rex’s ribs, hard enough to bruise and wind Rex, but not hard enough to cause serious damage.
As Rex gasped for air, his hands blindly pushed at Cody’s face, trying to distract him. Meanwhile, Cody grabbed his left shoulder and left thigh and rolled him. Cody kneeled on Rex’s back, grasped his elbows and pulled them so far backwards the stretch bordered on painful. Any way Rex moved had his shoulders screaming in protest.
When he was finally able to breathe deeply again, Rex cleared his throat. “I yield,” he said regretfully.
Most of the men gathered clapped, happy to see their Commander win the fight. Although a few looked a little disappointed that the spar hadn’t gone on longer.
“That was very efficient of you,” Rex rasped as they got up and moved back to where their armour was neatly laid out into piles.
“Obi-Wan has a holo meeting in two hours,” Cody said cheerfully, quickly enrobing in his armor. “I wanted you to have enough time to talk to him.”
“Codes,” Rex whined, hoping he could somehow get out of it.
“Don’t even try it,” Cody warned. “I’m taking you there right now.”
Cody grabbed Rex’s now armor-cladden arm and dragged him out of the slowly emptying room and into the hallway.
The 212th troopers cleared out of Cody’s path quickly, as they caught glimpses of their Commander’s intense expression. It wasn’t long before they were in front of the closed door of General Kenobi’s personal quarters.
Rex swallowed thickly around the lump that had formed in his throat and tried to ignore how much his hands were sweating inside his gauntlets.
Cody pressed his hand to the access panel and the door swished open, revealing General Kenobi sitting on a small sofa, datapad in hand.
“Cody?” Kenobi looked up from the ‘pad. “What are – Captain Rex?”
Rex had no time to contemplate what he was going to say before Cody leaned in and whispered into his ear: “Good luck,” and then promptly shoved Rex into the room.
The door closed swiftly behind him.
Rex stood awkwardly, just inside the doorway, clenching his fingers in his gauntlets repetitively.
“Captain Rex,” Kenobi said calmly, rising from his spot. “Can I… help you?”
“General,” Rex started, then paused and removed his helmet. “Could we… talk?”
“Of course. My door is always open to any of the men that serve under my command.”
Rex cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot. Dear Force, it was like he’d forgotten how to stand.
“Would you like to…” Kenobi looked him up and down carefully and then gestured to the sofa he’d been sitting on. “Sit down?”
“I underst--” Rex started blindly and then paused so they weren’t speaking over each other. “Oh, uh thank-you.”
Rex moved slowly over to the sofa, which was only about eight or so feet away. He felt every one of his steps shake through his bones as each foot hit the ground. He heard every creak of his armor and couldn’t help but wonder if this was as awkward for Kenobi as it was for Rex.
Finally Rex sat down, and Kenobi settled down next to him.
He took a calming breath and angled himself so he could see the General from the corner of his eye. “I don’t know if you know this… but Cody is very important to me.”
Rex paused, trying to think of what else to say and he could see Kenobi nodding his head in encouragement from his peripheral vision.
“I have known him for most of my life.” Rex paused again and took a quick glance at Kenobi’s face.
Kenobi smiled at him kindly. “Go on.”
“I understand that he… that you… That the two of you are together.” Rex said slowly, trying to figure out how to approach this conversation with a commanding officer and not violate any of the GAR’s rules or regulations. “And--”
“Yes,” Kenobi agreed. “Cody and I are together.”
“What?” Rex started, surprised by Kenobi’s interjection. “Oh, right. Well, I think you should watch yourself,” Rex finished awkwardly.
“I see.” Kenobi bit his lip, like he was trying not to smile. “I hope you understand that I respect and care for Cody and I will not intentionally hurt him in any way.” Kenobi’s lips quivered.
“Good. Because if you hurt him... Cody, I mean,” Rex said faintly, desperately trying to figure out where this talk was going. “There won’t be a shovel deep enough.”
Kenobi turned his face away and let out a small squeaking noise through his nose.
“I’m sorry,” Rex said awkwardly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Kenobi turned back to look at him, hand covering his mouth. “No, no, you’re fine,” Kenobi’s muffled voice came from behind his hand.
“Oh, uhm,” Rex felt his neck go red and hot, and then the flush spread to his face as he realized what he’d said. “I s-should probably--” Rex stuttered, feeling like a fool. He grabbed his helmet from his lap and yanked it down over his head, trying to hide his blush.
“Rex it’s alright,” Kenobi said calmly, leaning into Rex’s space to put a hand on his shoulder.
Just as Kenobi leaned in, Rex moved to quickly stand up and smacked the full kinetic force of his movement into Kenobi’s face… with his helmeted forehead.
Rex heard a sickening crunch as his jaig eyes made contact with Kenobi’s nose. It was like an almost perverse version of a Keldabe Kiss.
“Oh kark!” Rex shouted, the speakers of his helmet muffling the curse.
Kenobi’s hand flew up to his nose as he fell back onto the sofa, his eyes closed reflexively in pain.
Rex reached out, his fingers wanting to pull Kenobi in to comfort the man.
“Your armor is much harder than I had thought,” Kenobi wheezed, curling in on himself.
“I’m so sorry!” Rex exclaimed and then backed away from the sofa, terrified he might hurt the General again.
“I’ll go… I’ll go get--” Whoever Rex was going to get he couldn’t say and instead rushed out of the room.
He paused outside the door and put his still helmeted head in his hands. He liked this man. And he’d just hurt him.
Rex pushed his anxiety away and tried to get into his “Commander” mindset. Someone was hurt, so the first thing he needed to do was get a medic. Rex voice-holoed the ship dispatcher and requested a medic to General Kenobi’s private quarters.
He didn’t want to wait for the medic to arrive and have the vod learn exactly why General Kenobi’s nose was broken. But he would wait, just like he would wait for help to come for anyone who was injured. He would make sure Kenobi was in good hands with whatever medic arrived, before he left. And then he was going to find a nice dark corner to sit in and reflect on his own stupidity.
Because right now, he was feeling very stupid.
Rex found himself in the officer’s rec hall, not ten minutes later, slowly making himself a cup of instant caf and questioning everything he was. Was he really a battle-trained soldier and Captain? Because soldiers did not break their commanding officer’s noses after awkwardly trying to tell them not to break their vod’s heart.
He took his cup of fake caf to a table, stir-stick in hand.
He stared into the cup, morosely stirring the concoction. The blue-milk creamer seemed to want to stay separated from the rehydrated caffeine-enriched substitute-caf that all GAR ships carried. The stuff was terrible, but it did a pretty decent job of keeping someone awake when they needed it… and drinking it was a decent punishment too. Rex didn’t know what industrial waste tasted like, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t all that far off from this horrid stuff.
Rex didn’t know how long he stared into that cup before the door to the Officer’s rec hall swished open and Captain Niall stepped in.
“There you are!” Niall said with far too much glee. “I heard our wonderful General is sporting the most beautiful broken nose thanks to you, Captain!”
Niall moved forward and sat at the table, across from Rex. “What did he do to make you punch him out?” He asked, his eyes ablaze with the need for gossip. “Did he tell you to repaint your armor? Transfer to the 212th? Did he ask you to polish his lightsaber, like he does Cody, if you know what I mean?”
Niall had always had a bit of a vicious streak. He was far too close in personality to Alpha-17. But whereas Rex had heard that Alpha-17 had grown to like Kenobi and enjoyed working with the Jedi, Niall didn’t seem to like working with anyone. If he wasn’t such a good officer and soldier, Rex knew Cody would have had him transferred or demoted long ago.
“I really hope I didn’t hear you talking about our General like that,” Cody said as he stepped in the room, his eyes furious while the rest of his face was dead-calm.
Cody only got that look when he was truly angry. Niall must have been incredibly aware of what that expression meant, because he stood up and immediately saluted.
“Sorry sir. It won’t happen again sir.” Niall said, trying to sound apologetic.
“See that it doesn’t. I want you and your entire company on latrine duty for the rest of the week.”
“Sir!” Niall protested, falling out of the tight posture of his salute. “The Gamma Company shouldn’t have to suffer because--”
“Then you should be watching what you say more carefully, Captain. We work together as a unit. When one company is unable to work well with others – and that includes how all personnel act, even off-duty – it affects how the entire Battalion works together.
“If there is contention,” Cody continued, “about my fraternization with General Kenobi on our personal hours, those concerns should be addressed to me. They should not be bandied about between every Force-damned soldier on this ship.”
“I’m sorry sir,” Niall murmured, much more apologetic this time. His shoulders were square and his posture was tight and straight.
“Go tell your Company the bad news. I will inform shift coordinator Captain Trixsie about the change in weekly duties.” Cody dismissed him.
Niall walked rigidly out of the room, the door swishing closed behind him.
“He’s gonna be pissy for the next few weeks,” Rex said softly, stirring his caf more furiously. He refused to look up and make eye contact with his vod, instead watching the blue and dark brown swirl as it refused to mix.
“He’s always pissy,” Cody sighed and turned away from where he'd watched Niall walk out the door.
“Cody, I’m sorry!” Rex burst out, distressed and unsure of how to deal with it. He knew how to comfort shinies, he knew how to deal with his own grief, he knew how to compartmentalize the horrific things he saw in war. He didn’t know how to come to terms with hurting either of the men he deeply cared for.
Cody gave a huffing laugh and sat down in the seat Niall had vacated. “It’s alright Rex.”
“It’s not alright!” Rex almost shouted into his vod’s face. “I hurt him!”
“You did. But he’ll be alright.” Cody calmly assured him. “He’s strong, he’ll heal.”
“But I broke his–”
“You didn’t break his nose,” Cody shook his head. “You gave him a lovely nosebleed and a couple of bruises that will no doubt go some delightful shades of blue and black.”
“Oh,” Rex breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Now come on,” Cody stood and gestured to the door.
“Where are we going?” Rex frowned.
“We’re going to see Obi-Wan so you can apologize and have this whole thing be done with and behind us,” Cody explained.
Rex was already around the table before he thought that he wasn’t all that keen on seeing Kenobi again so soon. But before he could move away, Cody had grabbed him by the arm again and was pulling him out of the door and down the hall.
Rex protested the whole way there, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to break Cody’s grasp. When they got there and Cody shoved him in through the door and let it close behind him, Rex just sighed. This whole experience felt like the most unfortunate case of deja vu.
Kenobi stood from where he was sitting, this time at his desk, and approached Rex cautiously.
The developing bruises around Kenobi’s eyes and the large bandage across his nose made Rex wince. It sure looked like he’d broken the man’s nose.
“I’m so sorry,” Rex said in a rushing exhaule. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I--”
“Shhh,” Kenobi hushed him gently. “It’s alright Rex, really. I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. It’s much better than it looks,” the man gestured up at his face. “I don’t know many men, in the military or otherwise, that are brave enough to headbutt me so intensely.”
Rex was helpless to stop himself from making a small sobbing noise.
“I’m sorry, it was a joke,” Kenobi said, his eyes wide and earnest.
An awkward silence grew between them and Rex had no idea what to say.
“Please say something.” Kenobi pleaded, trying to pick back up the thread of the conversation.
Kenobi was close enough to touch now and Rex couldn’t help but try to reach out to touch the edges of the bandage. He caught himself before he made contact with Kenobi, and forcefully dropped his hand to his side.
Rex felt his neck start to heat again and he looked away.
“Rex,” Kenobi said. He stepped even closer, right into Rex’s space. “We keep missing each other’s cues I think, so I’m just going to lay my feelings out. I like you. I really like you.”
Kenobi paused, searching Rex’s face for something. But Rex didn’t know how to react, he didn’t know what to say.
“I guess what I’m saying is: I like you. I like you so much that I’d like to take you on a date. That I’d like to start a relationship with you.”
Rex stepped back, shocked. “But Cody!”
“It was his suggestion.” General Kenobi grinned, the skin around the bandage on his nose creased as it shifted to make room for his smile. “I like you both, a lot. Would you be interested in something between us?”
Rex felt like his chest was burning with happiness. “Yes,” he whispered back.
Once all their duties were finished for the day, the three of them made their way back to General Kenobi's quarters.
Rex still didn’t know what was going to happen between the three of them, but he found he was excited to figure it out.
Cody immediately made his way over to Kenobi's desk and plunked himself down, onto the chair.
Kenobi sat down on the sofa and gestured for Rex to sit beside him.
“Are you sure this is alright?” Rex asked tentatively, sitting down next to Kenobi gently. “The last time I sat here with you, you almost ended up with a broken nose.”
Cody groaned from where he was sitting at the General's desk. “Just put us all out of our misery and kiss him already, Obi-Wan.”
Kenobi put his hand down on the sofa, between them, body language open and interested.
Rex rested his own hand over Kenobi's, entwining their fingers. He looked up through his eyelashes at Kenobi... no, at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan smiled back at him. This close Rex could see the shadow of a cheek dimple through his beard.
“Is this alright?” Obi-Wan asked as he leaned in.
Rex nodded and took in as deep a breath as he could. He felt like his chest couldn’t expand all the way, like his lungs were trapped inside his ribcage, hemmed in by the heavy pulsing in his veins and rush of blood to his ears.
Cody hummed in satisfied approval from the other side of the room as Obi-Wan kissed Rex deeply. The rough side of the jedi's tongue pressed in and up, gently exploring the roof of Rex's mouth. The feeling of being so intimate with someone else was making Rex's ears buzz and his neck flush with heat.
Eventually, they moved apart and Rex felt like he could breathe again.
“Looks like you're stuck with us both,” Cody smirked at him from across the room.
Obi-Wan made an aborted laugh. “I can think of worse things, can't you Rex?” Obi-Wan turned that pale, powerful gaze on Rex and Rex fought the urge to let go of Obi-Wan's hand and run away. The intensity of that gaze was... a lot. There had always been something otherworldly about Obi-Wan and Rex felt it when the Jedi had him under his eye. He had felt the same on Kadavo.
“Yep,” Rex said ineloquently, his brain still feeling a little sluggish after that kiss.
Obi-Wan smiled at him warmly and then turned back to his Commander. “Where are we off to after we finish on Syngia, Cody?”
“We're being recalled to Coruscant. Seems like you have some Jedi council meetings to attend.” Cody's eyes were almost as intense as Obi-Wan's had been, when he looked up from his 'pad. Rex wondered if his own gaze was just as intense as his brother's. “I guess you have a meeting about some security nonsense the Chancellor is being dramatic over.”
“Oh joy,” said Obi-Wan with dry humor. “Sounds like fun. At least I'll get to spend the rest of the trip with you two.” Obi-Wan smiled sweetly at Cody, turning to include Rex in his statement.
“There's nowhere I'd rather be,” Cody said with soft happiness.
Rex internally echoed Cody's statement, but externally he simply smiled and nodded. He remembered how envious he'd felt when he'd first learned that Cody and Obi-Wan were together, only a couple of weeks ago. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he could end up here.
Obi-Wan tugged him up and off the sofa and over to Cody, pulling his vod up and into a kiss even as he maintained a tight grip on Rex's hand.
Cody was right. There really was nowhere else Rex would rather be right now. A quiet peace filled his chest and spread through his body.
He didn’t know what was going to happen next, but whatever it was, he couldn’t wait to figure it out with these two men.