Chapter Text
Watching Obi-Wan getting beaten by the slavers over and over again was one of the hardest things he’d had to witness. Especially considering how much Rex loved the man.
It wasn’t easy watching his brothers get hurt on the battlefield, either. But at least there, his and his brothers' sacrifices felt like they were because something important was being threatened. They were suffering to defend a Republic that so many people needed; that so many systems depended on to protect them from the evils of the galaxy.
Whereas seeing what the Zygerrian people were doing here felt… unnecessary and cruel just to be cruel. It seemed like one of those very evils they were trying to defend the Republic from.
And on top of that, he had to watch as those wretched slavers hurt the man he loved. Every cry, every wince, every hurt Obi-Wan suffered made Rex's gut clench in sympathetic pain.
Then finally the horrible nightmare was over. And the 104th stormed in, blasters blazing. They had come to rescue them.
Zygerria wasn’t crushed from their efforts, but Obi-Wan was safe now, and they had even saved the colonists and ruined this awful slaver facility. And it felt good to save these people, to see with his own eyes how the Vode and their Jedis efforts had affected these peoples’ lives so powerfully; for good.
Rex was even able to see the Colonists returned to their homes safely. The 501st and the 104th were able to help the Colonists reclaim their settlement and fix up some of the damage the droid army had done.
The work felt good, somehow more uplifting than celebrating the end of any battle. But despite the satisfying work, Rex’s thoughts were constantly back in the Triumphant’s medbay, where Obi-Wan was still encapsulated in a Bacta tank. Obi-Wan’s kidneys and ribs had been bruised more than the 104th’s head medic had liked, and so Obi-Wan had been ordered to take a four-day Bacta dip.
Which meant, even though the work helping the Colonists and repairing their homes was satisfying, a part of Rex wished he could be sitting at Obi-Wan’s side instead.
Finally the day finished though, and soon enough the teams were heading back up to the Triumphant to start preparations for their return to Coruscant, where the 212th and the Negotiator were waiting for them.
Every moment Rex was free during the trip back, he spent them sitting in front of Obi-Wan’s Bacta tank, watching his love heal.
By the time they returned to the Republic’s capital, Obi-Wan had been out of his Bacta tank for two days. Which meant that Rex spent two blissful nights sleeping at Obi-Wan’s side.
Their relationship being what it was, and Rex being assigned to the 501st, the two of them did not get to spend as much time together as Rex would like. That meant Cody often got to monopolize their favorite Jedi.
Rex made sure to send Cody lots of snippy holotexts, bragging about hogging all of Obi-Wan’s attention and cuddling the man each night. Rex thought the holotexts would infuriate Cody. Instead, once Cody knew that Obi-Wan and Rex were safe and mostly physically unharmed, Cody sent more and more risque innuendos and jokes in return.
And as much as Rex would love to initiate some intimacy between them, Rex really didn’t think Obi-Wan was ready for much more than sleepy cuddles and under the table hand-holding in the mess hall.
The man was… emotionally struggling with the events of the last few weeks. And Rex wanted to give their lover all the time and space he needed.
But all too soon they were back on Coruscant. And while Rex was sad to give up his alone time with Obi-Wan, he was happy he would be able to share the burden of his worry about their lover, with his vod and best friend.
“Codes!” Rex shouted as they debarked the dropships, just outside the barracks.
Cody’s helmeted head turned from where he’d been talking to Boil and Waxer, the three of them obviously waiting for Rex and the General’s arrival. Rex raced down the gangplank, crashing into Cody’s chest.
“Rex,” Cody said, slightly annoyed. But his vod’s arms encircled him tightly, showing how the stoic commander truly felt.
“How’s he doing?” Waxer asked in a hushed voice, when Rex finally pulled away.
Rex took off his bucket, sighing. “Not great. The nightmares are one thing. But the whole trip home he was startling at the littlest of sounds. I know he and I experienced similar conditions when we were enslaved, but they didn’t try to break me, and they never focused on me while we were down there. The slavers would hurt the colonists any time Obi-Wan did anything at all. Any time he would try to stop any of the beatings they would whip the colonists, any time he made too much eye contact with someone else, even when they thought he ate too much or slept too long. Seeing all those people hurt over and over and having it blamed on him, it… it took a toll on him.”
Waxer exchanged worried looks with Boil.
“The General doesn’t do well being helpless when other people are in pain,” Waxer said softly. “I can’t imagine how he must have felt, thinking he caused their pain.”
The soft creaking of Cody’s gauntlets made the three of them turn to eye his clenching fists. “But it wasn’t his fault,” Cody said roughly, his vocoder picking up little of his true emotions.
“Codes,” Rex's face softened in sympathy. “Of course it wasn’t. That’s not what Waxer is saying.”
He knew Cody hadn’t removed his helmet because he didn’t want Rex to see his expression. But Rex knew Cody well enough to know what face he was making. His vod’s jaw would be clenched, his eyes hard and far away. He was angry and frustrated. And Rex could completely understand, he was right there with Cody.
“What do we do?” Waxer asked quietly. Boil shifted beside him, his expression more empathetic than Rex had ever seen it.
The question rang through Rex’s skull. He’d been asking himself the same thing ever since the medics had taken Obi-Wan out of the Bacta and then been forced to give Obi-Wan a mild sedative. Obi-Wan just wouldn’t stop asking about the colonists long enough to hear what the healer was saying about his own condition.
“We show him we’re there for him. But beyond that… I don’t know,” Rex said quietly, looking to Cody for his vod’s thoughts.
But Cody just stood there stiffly, not saying a word.
“If that is the last topic on the agenda,” Mace said emotionlessly as the councilors fidgeted in their chairs. Or at least, all of them were restless except Master Kenobi. “Then I would like to bring something forward.”
Obi-Wan was slumped in a way Mace hadn’t seen since back when Obi-Wan had been grieving Qui-Gon’s death. Mace knew that this war was taking a toll on all of the Jedi, but until this point, Obi-Wan had seemed one of the least affected by the violence of the battlefield. He was one of the strongest and most devoted Jedi that Mace had ever met. Mace was sure the fact that Obi-Wan’s padawan-ship had been one violent mission after another, had taught Obi-Wan how to compartmentalize at an early age.
But with the most recent mission he and Skywalker had been deployed on… Mace was worried one of their strongest Masters, and their only Master with any amount of actual war experience, was about to break. The man was surrounded by more shatterpoints than Mace had ever seen on a person except, of course, Skywalker.
Yoda waved for Mace to continue.
“I think as of now we need to find ways for all our active Masters and Knights to have short meditative breaks away from the battlefield. Starting with Master Kenobi.” Mace said firmly.
More than a few heads turned in shock to stare at Mace.
“Mace, while I think that is a good idea for all the other deployed Masters and Knights. I cannot stay away from the battlefield at this time,” Obi-Wan frowned, sitting up a little.
Mace was glad to see some life return to Obi-Wan’s face, even if it was just to fight Mace on this.
“You can, and you will.” Mace said confidently. “Or are you saying that other Masters and Knights do not have the right to heal after they have been through something traumatic?”
Some of the fight that had been creeping up into Obi-Wan’s shoulders fell away and the man physically flagged in his seat. “Of course I am not saying that.”
“Good. So if there aren’t any objections, we will start out this trial meditative break with Master Kenobi for the next 5 days.”
“A week! I can’t be gone that long–”
Mace glared at Kenobi. “Fine, three days, starting tomorrow.”
“Fine,” Obi-Wan said grudgingly, through gritted teeth. “Three days.”
Mace smiled to himself. He’d only been aiming for three days from the start.
Rex walked into Cody’s office, carrying two trays of food, only to be met with the holoimage of their lover, mid-rant.
“—Can you believe his nerve? Ordering me away from the battlefield when we are fighting more battles, in harsher conditions, than ever before!”
Cody seemed to be filling out flimsi-work on a datapad, barely even paying attention to Obi-Wan as he worked himself up.
“Are you on mute?” Rex whispered, bringing the trays over.
“Yes. He’s upset that Master Windu is forcing him to take a meditative break away from the front for 3 days.”
“But that’s fantastic!” Rex grinned, just out of range of the holotransmitter. “He really needs the time to rest. Will he be staying at the temple?”
Cody hummed thoughtfully. “Agreed. So I’m just letting him argue himself out right now. As for where he’s staying, I’m not sure.” Cody reached over and unmuted himself. “Obi-Wan, are you staying at the temple during your break?”
“—Need every able battalion to–” Obi-Wan stopped mid-rant, suddenly looking sheepish. “Oh.” Rex was sure if they were with him in person, Obi-Wan’s cheeks would be bright red. As it was, the blue holoimage made it hard to tell. “Well, he actually pulled me aside after the meeting and told me the Order would pay for me to stay on the resort moon that orbits Utrost.”
“There’s something else you’re not saying,” Cody accused him over the holocall.
Obi-Wan rubbed a hand through his beard sheepishly. “Yes, well. Mace also told me the booking would be for three and that I should take my ‘nice young men’ along with me.”
Rex dropped the fork he was holding, his mouth falling open. “He said what?”
“Rex!” Obi-Wan called out, looking around despite the fact that Rex was out of range of the visual transmitter. “I didn’t see you come in!”
The three of them had thought they were being so careful. They didn’t want to be split up or moved to other battalions away from Obi-Wan, as GAR regulations stated. And Cody and Rex had talked privately about how much they didn’t need the Jedi to know that Obi-Wan was attached to them.
Then Obi-Wan smiled, his embarrassment clear across his face. “I guess I’m not as subtle as I thought, when I talk about the two of you.”
Cody shook his head, amused, and let out a huffing laugh. “Guess Rex and I need to get packed then.”
“Yes,” Obi-Wan stroked his beard, trying to hide his smile. “I guess you should. The shuttle leaves from the Temple hangers at 0700 sharp tomorrow morning. I would love to see you both there?” His last sentence curled up in question, and a shade of worry crossed his face. “Unless of course, you two have something else you need to do. I would understand of course–”
“We’d love to go, Obi-Wan,” Cody cut him off. “Rex and I need to leave right now though. There’s a couple things we’ll need to pick up if we’re meant to go on a resort vacation tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Obi-Wan said hesitantly. “Have a good night.”
Cody turned off the holotransmitter and quickly ate half the food on the tray Rex had brought.
“What do we have to pick up?” Rex frowned.
Cody laughed. “You don’t know anything about Utrost’s resort moon do you.”
Rex sighed and rolled his eyes. They’d never campaigned there, so why would he? “Of course not.”
“It’s a resort town surrounded by soft sandy beaches and a relatively calm ocean. Most people go there to lounge around on the beach or swim in its warm oceans.”
“Oh,” Rex blinked.
Cody laughed. “And neither of us have swimwear.”
“Then we’d better hurry.”
“Especially if we want to sneak into the temple so we can snuggle Obi-Wan tonight.” Cody smirked.
“You mean because Windu basically just gave us permission?” Rex frowned.
Cody’s smug look said it all. “In for a chit, in for a credit, Rex.”
Obi-Wan woke with a start, grabbing out at whoever had come into the room and forcing them hard onto the surface beneath him.
“Obi-Wan, it’s just me!” A familiar voice said soothingly.
Obi-Wan gripped the person’s wrists tightly, blinking away the sleep. “Rex,” he said, relaxing in relief. “You startled me.”
“Sorry about that,” Rex said sheepishly. “Codes and I wanted to come snuggle you.”
Obi-Wan slowly let go of Rex’s wrists, and Rex made a small sound of disappointment. “Snuggle?” Obi-Wan said, confused.
“Yeah, like this,” Rex whispered, and wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan’s torso.
Obi-Wan relaxed into the hold, dropping his full weight onto his boyfriend.
Rex let out an “Omph” and pulled Obi-Wan in closer.
Obi-Wan was just aware enough to hear the sound of the fresher door close, and then his bedroom door opened and someone padded in.
“You’re hogging him, Rex,” Cody’s voice came from the side, dry and amused.
Rex chuckled into Obi-Wan’s neck. “You snooze, you lose Codes.”
Cody walked around the bed, pulling the blankets and sheets up over them and crawling in himself.
“G’night Obi-Wan,” Cody said sweetly, one warm leg moving to tangle in with Obi-Wan and Rex’s.
Obi-Wan sighed against Rex’s cheek and fell back asleep, comforted by their presences.