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Cody laid in the dark of the tent on his cot. The night air was cool and fresh, the smell of creosote permeating every breath.
Below him, to his left, lay Obi-Wan on nothing more than a thin sheet. He'd insisted it sufficed; he was a Jedi, after all, and monks such as him did not expect luxurious accommodations. They were not used to them, besides. Cody wasn't sure if he'd call a stiff military-issue cot a luxury, but then again, there was a lot in this world he was ignorant of.
The life of a clone was half hard work and half bad dreams. Sleep did not come easily to Cody, who had seen his fair share of terrible things in this world. This usually could be aided by a short walk around the camp, or a few hours spent on watch until exhaustion took him, but tonight there was a barrier between him and reprieve- the man sleeping on the floor between his cot and the exit.
Cody stared down at Obi-Wan as he breathed slowly in and out through his nose, clearly deep asleep. What was it like, being a Jedi? A General? He assumed the role of General couldn't be all that different from Commander, only with more power, more regret and more grim responsibility, but the idea of the monastic lifestyle was so far from anything Cody had ever known that he struggled to imagine it in its entirety.
It didn't matter that he spent most waking and sleeping hours beside this man; he couldn't fathom the life he lived outside of what Cody saw of it and even that which he saw did, to some degree, elude him.
"Please keep the burning questions to a minimum past midnight, my dear Commander." Cody jolted back, uttering a shocked, embarrassing noise. He still didn't quite understand it- Obi-Wan had reassured him time and time again that he could not, in fact, read his mind, but sometimes it did feel that way.
Obi-Wan peeked open one eye to squint at him discerningly; then that expression melted away into laughter- teasing, jovial and private. He giggled smugly into the crook of his elbow. "Sorry."
"My apologies." Cody cleared his throat. It was harder to talk like this without his helmet to shield him. "I didn't mean to stare."
"I've been told that I'm a more engaging conversationalist when I am conscious."
Cody suppressed the desire to throw something or other in his direction, or smack him upside the head. Both temptations continued to dance in his periphery as he watched Obi-Wan sit up to smile languidly at him, his arms crossed over his propped up knees, tousled hair dangling in his face. He looked tastefully debauched. It annoyed Cody beyond belief.
"I don't know about that, sir."
"Obi-Wan, please." He held a hand up to halt Cody's sputtered protest. "I'm sleeping on your floor. I should be referring to you with respectful formalities."
Allowing himself to relax, Cody slowly untensed his hands and sat back further, eyeing him down the bridge of his nose. "It's never too late to start."
That teased another smile from Obi-Wan. Such plain happiness was rare in their life of turmoil and war. It bode well of his mood if he was willing to do anything but brood in silence. He turned onto his side, propping his head on his elbow to regard Cody. "My lord, you need only to ask."
Obi-Wan Kenobi was among the most frustrating beings on this earth. Stubborn to his core and loyal to the Jedi council until the very bitter end, he represented a sort of stiff calculation and distant disregard which Cody could not look past- but he offered, in near equal measure, such a staggering scale of tender kindness such as Cody had rarely seen before. It balanced out into this one extremely vexing man who now sat below, smiling smugly up at him.
"You look like a tooka who's got the cream," sneered Cody, rolling stubbornly over onto his side so as to avert his eyes. "Smugness hardly suits you."
"My apologies, sir. I was not aware of the policy against friendliness when within your vicinity."
Cody scoffed. "I am perfectly friendly."
"Shall I go ask those Bothans we spoke to earlier if they agree?"
Cody scoffed once more, turning to squint disapprovingly down at Obi-Wan before rolling over once again to stare at the ceiling of the tent. The orange firelight flickered dimly against the thin material.
Obi-Wan sighed, his jovial attitude subsiding. "I hope I did well in those negotiations earlier. I am not certain the plan is sound."
"They're orders from above," replied Cody. "It's above our pay grades to make those kinds of assumptions."
Obi-Wan sighed again.
"Do you even get paid?" asked Cody.
Obi-Wan sat up. "No."
They both knew Cody didn't. He slowly sat up, the blanket slipping into his lap as he turned to look at his general. In this private space they were close enough to equals. Just for a moment. He took fierce advantage of it. "I think your handling of it was lacking, but your kindness made up for it. Lean into that."
"Into what?"
"The goodness," murmured Cody. "All the formalities come across as condescending. It is the concern- the thoughtful empathy- that gets through to people."
Obi-Wan took that thought and turned it over in his head for several moments. Then he pressed his face into his hands and sighed. The motion cracked his back, and his breath hitched.
"Sleep on the ground like that any longer and your back's going to get revenge on you." Cody scowled at him. "It's not noble or honorable to put yourself in pain for valor, or appearances. Doesn't matter if sleeping on the floor is-"
"I'm a Jedi -"
"-monastically approved or something, you're just going to get yourself injured and I won't sympathize."
Obi-Wan stared at his hands for a moment before he twisted them in his lap, looking up at him. "Sorry."
"Thank you."
The two sat in silence together for a beat, just listening to the distant crackle of the fire and the soft coos of nocturnal birds in the area. Cody shivered. It was rather cold out here, and they'd been issued only the barest GAR issue blankets for their long trek.
Obi-Wan must have noticed, because in that strange, avoidantly caring way of his, he sat up straight and said; "You really ought to think ahead regarding warm supplies when we go on missions such as this."
Cody laughed. "Karking what?"
"What?"
He couldn't stop. Cody coughed, snorted, and choked out; "What, you think I'm- assigned a mission and sent a travel itinerary and a wardrobe requirement? Ha! Think I'm in my walk-in closet choosing from my- my silken or my wool blankets? My leather jacket collection? Thumbing through-"
"Oh, stop!"
"-my shelves of freshly pressed trousers? I'm, what-
"Stop it!" wheezed Obi-Wan.
"Calling the servant droid to prepare my luggage for the hovercab!"
He'd made Obi-Wan laugh as well. They bent over at the middle, each laughing somewhat hysterically into their hands, snorting and trying, failing, desperately, to muffle their wild giggles. Obi-Wan was red in the face and Cody, as though on cue, shivered violently. It only made them each freeze, lock eyes, and cackle again.
Obi-Wan, sick of this silliness, swept up his own blanket and leapt up from the floor, clambering onto Cody's bed to forcefully wrap the other man in it.
Cocooned like a cadet on his first cold-weather training sim, Cody's head was the only thing poking out of the blanket. He pushed back, shoving Obi-Wan with the intention of pushing him back onto his ass on the floor. Instead he only set him veering off balance, swaying in turn to fall forwards against him.
Obi-Wan lay sprawled on his heavily blanketed chest, struggling to stand. Cody managed to wrangle his arms from the cocoon and drag him down with him, holding him there, trying fruitlessly to wrap him in the damned scratchy blanket in turn.
Slowly, their laughter faded. They weren't boys playing rowdy games on the playground anymore; they were among the highest ranking men in the Grand Army of the Republic, and ought to act like it.
But it was so very nice to have Obi-Wan's weight on top of him, warm and steady and firm. He smelled of citrus-y cologne and a day's hard work. He was on his hands and knees, smiling awkwardly down at him, his deep brown eyes enrapturing.
"Well," said Obi-Wan. "This is unprofessional."
Cody wriggled beneath the blankets, straining again to gain some semblance of dignity back. "Mm. I'd say so. It does solve the issue of the cold, though."
"It does."
Cody glared up at Obi-Wan. "You still vex me, you know. You're one annoying bastard of a man."
He pressed his hand firmly down on Cody's chest. "And yet I still won."
It was so very ridiculous, this position they were in, that Cody could not picture them coming back from it with any semblance of dignity. It'd be quite hard to pretend this silliness hadn't happened and go back to sleep. He could only envision himself doing what he did in most difficult situations; soldier onwards, into the thick of it.
Not to mention that, yet again, it felt very nice.
He reached a tentative hand up to cup Obi-Wan's jaw, tilting his face to look down at him just so. His thumb brushed tenderly through the bristles of his beard. "You look rather silly right now, sir."
Obi-Wan hesitated, his gaze flicking between Cody's eyes, clearly uncertain. Then he slowly relented, leaning just the barest inch into his touch. "I can't say the same of you."
Something shifted in the air between them. Every muscle in Cody's body relaxed, easing into the touch. He dared to run his hands back into Obi-Wan's hair, tenderly brushing the base of his neck, pulling him ever so slightly closer.
"It's not unheard of for countrymen to share a bed in the field."
"Is that what we are?" chuckled Obi-Wan, slowly relaxing to rest more of his weight on Cody, leaning closer. "Countrymen? I'd thought us closer than that."
Cody smiled. "We can get closer yet."
Spurred by a sudden bolt of confidence he knew he had to size now, lest it be gone as fast as it came, Cody pulled Obi-Wan into a kiss. Chaste, at first, until Obi-Wan's tentative response grew more confident, his mouth moving surely against his own. Obi-Wan kept his touches firm and steady, shifting to rest on one elbow so his free hand could cup the base of Cody's neck.
"Is this alright?" murmured Obi-Wan, drawing back to look him in the eyes.
"It's all I can give right now," Cody replied. He wrapped his arms around him. "So yes, it's alright. Kiss me again."
And he did, more boldly this time, though his technique left something to be desired. It was alright; they had time for such things, and the thrill alone of it being Obi-Wan touching him so tenderly sufficed to sate all Cody's secret desires which he had held so close to his heart all these years. They rolled to lie side by side, slowly easing in the hurried, frantic kisses, tiredness making each movement more languid than the last. He brushed a hand over the tightly coiled black hair upon Obi-Wan's scalp, all graying at the temples, and smiled.
Finally, Cody managed to unwrap himself from the blanket and drape it over them both, tucking it in at the edges. He was very meticulous about these things. He checked again, sitting up slightly to ensure Obi-Wan was firmly tucked in, and then lay down to look him in the eyes once again.
Cody offered him a shy, private little smile, meant only for those he deemed worthy of seeing himself in such a vulnerable state. He curled his arms more tightly around the other man, winding their legs together. He rolled forward, then, to rest his head on Obi-Wan's chest, beneath the crook of his chin.
In most things in life, Cody was seen as a bulwark of strength, confidence, and poise. He was a military tactician of the highest standing and the earnest respect he was treated with was hard-earned. He couldn't remember the last time someone held him, cradled him. It felt strange. He wanted more of it.
As sleep slowly claimed him, Cody listened to the steady rise and fall of Obi-Wan's breath and the bragging beat of his heart. He felt warm tucked against his chest, safe. The cicadas hummed outside. The night air was cool on his face.
Tomorrow the war would come again, a blazing sun on the horizon with no mercy to offer. They would each be relegated again to their titles and all the duties required of them, the uncrossable gap between them widened with each day as the war dragged on. At least, for now, he could savor this brief dream, this tender reprieve from all the troubles in his life.
Cody curled his hands into Obi-Wan's robes and let the darkness of sleep take him.