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Kix was taught a lot during medic training. He knew how to deal with almost any sort of injury a vod could possibly end up with. He was even taught a lot about the Jedi and how to care for them as well. He knew that even the human ones might have completely different biologies and physiologies than he and his brothers. What they didn’t teach him though, was how to deal with bullshit Jedi stubbornness.
Especially not when said Jedi was the stubborn, idiotic self sacrificing Jedi that Kix had been stuck with. He adored his General. He did. Just some days, like today, he very much wanted to throttle him.
Skywalker was very clearly beyond exhausted. Force Exhaustion, he thinks General Kenobi had called it. Which didn’t at all surprise him. He had been over exerting himself for the last two days, fighting clankers, keeping the Five oh First safe, fixing homes. He was going above and beyond, and Kix was worried he was going to collapse.
He was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one. The Jedi was currently helping Fives and Echo fix a torn apart roof. It belonged to the home of one of the natives, and the clankers hadn’t cared that it had been in their way. The Five oh First had no intention of leaving the planet without helping them rebuild, but Kix was pretty certain that didn’t mean working non stop. Which was what their General was doing.
He was getting to a point where Kix was surprised he was able to do anything at all. Everything that Skywalker floated up to the two ARC’s was shaking. Skywalker was shaking, and Fives and Echo kept sending him worried glances over the edge of the small home.
“Sir?” Echo eventually called down. “Maybe you should take a break? Get some sleep?”
“Nah, Echo, s’all right. Everythings good."
Kix didn’t bother to stop himself from giving a loud, derisive snort. A snort that drew their Commander’s attention away from the trooper she was helping to bandage up.
“Everything okay, Kix?”
“No. Your master is an idiot.”
She laughed and followed his gaze. Though the laughter died quickly when her eyes landed on Skywalker, concern furrowing her white markings.
“Is he even actually conscious!”
“That was what I was wondering.” he replied with a heavy sigh. “I don’t suppose you have some sort of fancy Jedi trick that would make him crash?”
She sighed herself and shook her head. “No, not that would work on him. Even like this. Though,” she hesitated and Kix quickly encouraged her to go on. “I might have a way to get him to stop moving, though I’d have to stop helping?”
“Getting him to stop moving would be helping me more than anything Commander."
“That is very fair. Okay, be right back!”
She handed her bandages over to one of the younger troopers at her side and hurried over to Skywalker. Once she reached him, she lightly tugged on his arm. He was clearly out of it, because he practically moved in slow motion to face her.
“Ahsoka?” he asked worriedly. “What's wrong?”
“Skyguy, I’m drained.” she said in an exaggeratedly tired voice. “This battle has been, it's just…”
“I know, Snips.” he agreed, the arm she had tugged on reaching up so his hand could settle against her back lekku. “What can I do?”
“Come lay down with me for a bit? The vod’e are comforting in the Force, but it isn’t the same as you are."
Skywalker glanced between her and the two ARC’s, a clear furrow in his brow even from where Kix stood. After a long moment of seemingly staring mindlessly at the two on the roof, he called out to them.
“Boys, would you be okay if I went with ‘Soka for a bit?”
“Yeah!” they chorused together, both nodding emphatically. “Go, sir. We’ve got this!”
With their enthusiastic agreement, Skywalker let himself be led across the destroyed street to Kix’s makeshift medical tent. Though, he was pretty sure he had no idea that the arm Commander Tano had around his waist was leading him much more than the arm he had over her shoulders was leading her. Especially when he ended up stumbling over some sort of debris and the young togruta had to more or less catch him.
“Hey, Kix.” he greeted as they reached him. “Mind if Snips and I commandeer a bed for a half hour or so?”
“Be my guest, sir.” he replied immediately. “Take it for as long as you need."
“Not long. Gotta get back to helping, but ‘Soka needs me."
“Whatever you say, sir.”
Skywalker gave him what was supposed to be a cheerful smile, but it just came across as utterly exhausted. Ahsoka smiled as well, though hers was much more energetic, and led him over to one of the empty beds in the corner. Once there, she more or less pushed him onto its surface and crawled up to lay beside him.
To none of Kix’s surprise, Skywalker more or less melted the moment he was laying flat. Though, it was nothing compared to when the young commander began to make a very deep humming noise, almost like she was purring?
When Skywalker wrapped his arm around her waist and the sound grew in volume, Kix was certain she was purring. Which was something that he had no idea togruta were capable of. But watching his General more or less pass out the moment she started making the clearly comforting sound had him beyond grateful that she could.
“How the every loving kriffing hells did she do that?” Coric asked as he came up to Kix’s side. “I’ve been trying to get the General to take a break, to even just eat, for hours now.”
“She pretended that she herself wanted a break. Said that she wanted him to comfort her."
“Smart.”
“Manipulative.”
“But smart.”
Kix laughed and nodded. “And necessary, when wrangling a Jedi like Skywalker.”
“Think we should send a holo to Hypo?” Coric questioned with a little grin. “Let him know we have a secret weapon, see if he needs it when dealing with Kenobi?”
“What, just trade Commander Tano back and forth like some sort of therapy tooka?”
Coric gestured over to the two Jedi. “She’s completely out of it as well. Clearly, this is good for her too.”
Kix studied the two completely passed out superior officers. Both of them were entirely lax, their expressions soft and limbs loose. For the first time in a long time, it was very evident that they were twenty-one and fifteen. A very heart wrenching reminder that had him even more thankful for their Commander’s seemingly magic power.
“It is, yeah.” he agreed with Coric easily. “And honestly, I think Kenobi could do with down time with both of them."
“I don’t think they know what downtime is, vod.”
He snorted out a humorless laugh and raised his comm to take a not at all subtle holo. “No, but we can always take a page out of the Commander’s book.”
“And manipulate them into it?”
Kix nodded as he sent the holo over to Hypo, the Two-Twelfths medic. “This is war, Coric. Whatever it takes to get our di’kut jetii to take care of themselves."
“What was it you called it? Jedi wrangling?”
“Mhmm. Should write a book. Call it, ‘The Art of Jedi Wrangling’. Sell it to the other medics.”
“You’d make them pay?”
The Commander made a soft snuffling sound then, her purring noise hitching. Without hesitation, Skywalker’s arm tightened around her, pulling her closer to his chest. She burrowed in, a content smile coming over her face. A smile that miraculously seemed to be echoed on Skywalker’s previously drawn features.
Kix gave a small shake of his head, a small smile taking over his own expression. “No. No, we all need to know how to take care of these idiots. After all, if we don’t, who is going to?”