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Cody stretched in his bed, still in awe of the whole concept of a “nap,” let alone the fact that he could have one in an actual bed that belonged to him. He sat up and pushed the sheet away, then he swung his legs down until his feet could slide right into his slippers. He indulged in wiggling his toes in the soft Endorian wool lining, then stood and walked to the living room.
Obi-Wan was sitting on the couch, book in his hand and glasses on his nose. Pardon, the secret glasses that Anakin could never find out about. He looked up at Cody and smiled.
“I just brewed some tea if you’d like a cup,” he said softly, knowing that Cody preferred a gentle wakeup now that he was allowed.
Cody squinted. “Real tea or that stuff you can barely smell, let alone taste?”
The Jedi rolled his eyes. “Yes, you heathen, it’s black tea. I would hope I would know better by now after years of offering you tea.”
He moved toward the kitchen, saying over his shoulder, “Good because not all of us enjoy hot water that some dried herbs thought about taking a bath in before deciding against it.” He poured a cup and added some Nubian honey, stirring carefully so none of it sloshed out.
Obi-Wan just humphed, and Cody grinned. He went back and settled in his armchair, which was perfectly placed to see the Temple district out the window. He sipped his tea, perfectly content to sit in silence and sunlight.
“Rex went for a run,” Obi-Wan offered quietly after a few minutes.
Cody pulled his mostly empty mug away from his face for the first time since he sat down and turned curiously to the Jedi.
“He left about thirty minutes before you woke up, so he should be back soon,” he finished.
Cody hummed in response, then he turned to look at the clock high on the wall to his right. “By the time he cleans up, it’ll be just about latemeal,” he said. “Any plans, or should we just go to one of the commissaries?”
Obi-Wan didn’t answer right away, and Cody was confused to see a blush rising on his cheeks. What could have prompted that?
Before he could ask, though, Rex came home, striding through the door without looking as he waved goodbye to someone. Cody assumed it was Ahsoka – they often ran and did other activities together to make staying in touch easier.
As Cody was, at heart, an asshole, he quickly grabbed one of the small pillows he insisted on buying just for such occasions and chucked it at the back of the blond head.
Rex must have heard the slight whistle of the air moving, but all that allowed him to do was turn just enough that the cushion smacked him in the face instead.
“You’re such a dick,” Rex sighed over Cody’s snickers.
“And you should know by now to dodge sideways instead of turn around,” he replied. “Not only has it been months of this, but how in the galaxy did you survive the war with instincts like that?”
“Anyway,” Obi-Wan interrupted, “we were just talking about latemeal. Do you want to go to one of the cafes? I think the one two floors down is serving deep-fried nuna legs.”
He didn’t know about Rex, but Cody could feel his mouth start to water.
“I’m in,” Rex said quickly.
“Me too, but only if sweat stains over here at least wipes down,” Cody said, unable to resist poking again.
The small pillow came flying back at him, but he just neatly caught it and put it back where he’d found it. He smirked at Rex, who silently glared in response.
But, he did go to the fresher, so Cody definitely won that one.
Taking another mouthful of his now lukewarm tea, Cody took a moment to marvel again at his life. During the war, he’d hardly dreamed about what it might be like after, just hoping he’d live long enough to see it. What dreams he did share were actually with the two in the apartment with him.
He and Rex had met during ARC training on Kamino, and they’d immediately felt something spark. At first, when the war had begun and they were assigned to the Two-Twelfth together, Cody had thought they could make something of it. But then Anakin was knighted, and Rex was leaving with him. They’d decided together to put anything more on hold, to allow themselves to grow close to others and see what could happen after the war.
He’d already respected Obi-Wan by then, and their friendship only grew after Anakin and Rex split off. Now that the people who they’d spent the most time with were gone, they both had fallen into work more and more, naturally doing much of it together. Cody had felt a sense of haa’taylir tug’yc as something quiet began to grow between them, even more so when they acknowledged what was happening and made the decision to wait until the war was won.
Settling things with each of them separately promised to be a ridiculous exercise in mental gymnastics, so Cody brought them both to his bunk to hash it out all together. He had always been one to work smarter, not harder.
After not too long, they’d decided Rex and Cody would move into Obi-Wan’s quarters at the Temple and they’d see where things went. Even better, Rex and Obi-Wan had bonded over the course of the war, sharing trauma and exasperation over Anakin alike. They’d decided on their own to spend some time just the two of them when they could to see if that friendship could deepen.
Now, a little more than six months after that conversation, Cody’s life was easier and more comfortable than he’d ever believed possible. In fact, there was only one thing he still wanted.
Well, two things.
He drained his mug and stood up to rinse it in the sink. It was his turn to do dishes, but he liked to do it right before bed. And despite how crazy Rex and Obi-Wan both thought it was, he really liked doing them by hand. It was almost meditative, that simple chore, and it was a wonderful way to wind down at the end of the day.
Just as he let go of the handle and turned around, Rex came back out, having changed his shirt along with cleaning up.
Obi-Wan tucked his bookmark in between the pages, closed the book, and put it on the side table. He raised his elbows and stretched, rolling his spine in a way that reminded Cody of a tooka, then he stood up too.
Cody leaned against the counter, watching Obi-Wan and Rex come together to chat quietly, neither of them rushing Cody at all.
Yes, he only wanted two things anymore, or rather two people.
He flexed his hips to push off the counter, and walked to the two men, a plan coming together as he moved.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said. “By the way, how about we visit the Room of a Thousand Fountains after latemeal? I haven’t visited since they switched the environmental controls to autumn.”
As they both agreed, Cody started to feel a little nervous. He took a deep breath as subtly as he could, reminding himself they had all promised their friendship at least, even if nothing else developed.
But that didn’t feel like enough anymore.
By the time they were done with latemeal and walking toward the Room, Cody felt like he was going to vibrate his skin right off. Whether that was from excitement or nerves, he couldn’t quite tell. What he did know was that he was beyond ready for this conversation.
Walking into the Room was like nothing he’d ever seen in real life. It came close to a couple planets they’d been to during the war, but even those he’d mostly seen through bucket cams as he’d spent at least half the war on the Negotiator , managing the overall campaigns.
Everywhere he looked was a different shade. There were reds, oranges, yellows, and more. He’d known the Room was normally filled with thousands of shades of green, but for some reason that hadn’t translated into what autumn would actually look like in his head.
As they walked through, looking for an out of the way spot to settle, Cody also saw leaves scattered all over the ground in those same colors. A few younglings ran by, and the leaves crunched under their feet.
Finally, they ended up where they always did: a small clearing that butted right up to a pond, which had a short cliff face on the other side. Cody didn’t know why they put up the pretense every time that they might sit somewhere different, but he guessed it was a tradition after this long.
They all sat in a loose circle, the leaves here crackling just like the ones he’d heard earlier. He let the silence linger, letting them have some time to relax just in case the conversation didn’t go the way he was almost sure it would.
“So,” he began quietly. He waited until Rex and Obi-Wan turned toward him, smiled gently, then continued. “I’ve been thinking–”
“A dangerous pastime, indeed,” Rex teased.
“Now Rex, there’s no need for that,” Obi-Wan said. Then he grinned his most mischievous grin. “Cody’s brain is already tired after all that thinking, so we must be gentle with him.”
He wanted to sigh in exasperation, but found himself grinning in fondness instead as the two ridiculous men he loved chuckled at his expense. They didn’t take long in their mirth, laughter dying down in just a few seconds, and Cody waited patiently for them to be done.
“I’ve been thinking,” he repeated, “about our talk a few months ago, when we all decided to live together.”
He was vastly amused to see both of them blush, Rex’s faint and focused in his ears and Obi-Wan’s bright and spreading all over from his cheeks.
“We’d said we would see where things went, if we could all become something more to each other than friends,” he continued gently. “It’s been a long time since then, and for me, it’s been long enough to know.”
Rex snapped his eyes back to Cody from where they’d drifted in his embarrassment, and Obi-Wan’s eyes widened.
Cody paused. Were they really afraid? Did they really think there was any chance he wasn’t completely, hopelessly, desperately in love with them?
At that thought, he smiled in a way he didn’t think he ever had before, and however that smile looked from the outside seemed enough to relax them.
“I just want you both to know that I love you, that I want that more that we wondered about,” he said. “If either of you aren’t sure, or if you’re not ready, I–”
He was cut off by Rex and Obi-Wan scrambling toward him almost in unison and falling into his arms. He landed with a quiet “oomph” on the ground, the two landing on either side of his chest. He regained his equilibrium and looked at his two loves.
Rex was grinning more broadly than ever, yet his eyes were so soft as he looked down at Cody.
Obi-Wan was smiling more gently, and his eyes shone with unfallen tears as he met Cody’s gaze.
He rolled his eyes. “I should have known you two lunatics would literally rush right in,” he groused.
“Yes, but we’re your lunatics now,” Rex said brightly, leaning down to give a quick and dirty kiss.
As he pulled back, Obi-Wan leaned forward. “And as you said,” he breathed, stopping to briefly but firmly kiss Cody too, “you knew what you were getting into.”
Then, they turned to each other, still splayed across Cody’s chest. They stared for a moment, speaking through their eyes as all three of them so often did. Then, they leaned in slowly and kissed softly, pulling away so carefully that their lips separating didn’t make a sound.
And Cody lay under them, just watching and feeling his heart grow even more full.
Yes, this was strong. This was right. This would last.